Great Magician Duo

Rating: 9/10 (14 August 2014)

The Prestige opens in London around the turn of the 19th century, with the death of magician Rupert Angier (Jackman), with Alfred Borden (Bale), another magician, as the only suspect. While Borden is held in prison during the trial, he is brought a copy of Angier's journal, which he reads and we see in flashbacks. One of these flashbacks reveals that years earlier, Angier got hold of a copy of one of Borden's journals and while Angier reads it we get a further flashback and so we have a flashback within a flashback, which allows us to see the story from both of the lead character's point of view.
Both Angier and Borden began their career's as apprentices to the same magician. Angier's wife was the magician's assistant. One night, Angier's wife died during a water tank trick because she was unable to untie the knots in time; knots tied by Borden. This incident is the beginning of the rivalry and hatred between the two men that will carry throughout the movie.
They both soon launch themselves into solo careers. Borden is the superior magician, but Angier, with the help of his mentor, Cutter (Caine), is a far better showman. Cutter hires Angier a pretty assistant (Johansson) and helps him learn a few new tricks. Borden on the other hand, while not as successful, performs tricks that Angier longs to master. After stealing Borden's greatest trick, The Transported Man, Angier becomes very successful, but still his greatest obsession is getting revenge on Borden by humiliation or any other means he can. His obsession lasts years and takes him around the world and costs him dearly, both emotionally and financially. Borden doesn't sit idly by either, matching Angier with acts of retaliation that prolong the rivalry. And the revenge on both sides isn't merely connected to their careers as both of them extract their pound of flesh from the other.
Jackman and Bale make great rivals and while at times Jackman's Angier seems like the protagonist, they each rotate in and out of that role as the story reveals its secrets. In the end you might be wondering if the film contains a protagonist at all or if both characters haven't each received what was coming to them. Caine's and Johansson's roles are both supporting as their character's lives are dictated by Borden and Angier.