1. Are You Watching Closely?
Alan Su
Daniel Lee
Darren Chu
Min Park
Sam Kim

2. Is it a Good Story?
It has a unified plot because everything is explained fully when the change of knowledge occurs
We learn why Angier was drowning in the beginning, and how Borden performed his trick at the end

3. Credible/Plausible
If you assume everything can happen then it is a plausible story
The story can even be explained if the cloning machine is fake
Leading a double life with a twin is plausible, because Borden and Fallon were dedicated to their act no matter what

4. Externally Observable Truths
Not all married couples live happily, as shown with Borden/Fallon and Sarah
Competition can turn deadly from obsession, as shown with the execution of Fallon, and Angier’s murder and clones
Affairs are never successful as shown with Olivia and Borden/Fallon
Sacrifice leads to alienation as shown when Cutter becomes disgusted by Angier due to his trick

5. Internal Truths of Human Nature
People should live honest lives and be truthful to each other
In The Prestige, Borden is not truthful to Sarah, which leads to her suicide
People should be able to forgive each other
Angier is unable to forgive Borden for his wife’s death, leading to the rivalry

6. Artistic Semblance or Truth
If Borden/Fallon didn’t switch the knots, they would have remained friends with a healthy rivalry, instead of the obsession they pursue
If Root had not gone bad, Angier would probably have put Borden/Fallon out of business

7. It is possible that the clone machine didn’t work
Tesla and Alley could have planted the hats and cat in the same location to make Angier think the machine worked
Tesla may have taken advantage of Edison’s men burning his lab to escape Angier after conning him
Angier would have performed the act with another double
The bodies in the tanks were dummies

8. When Fallon came backstage, he put his double in the tank, letting him drown

9. Interesting-Suspenseful/Action
Suspense in the film is created by the audiences limited knowledge
The audience believe they know what will happen because they have seen flashbacks and flash forwards
Suspense is also created because the audience is not sure how something will happen even though they are given many clues
In the end the final plot twist occurs

10. Complex
The movie is shown in a series of flashbacks and flash forwards with shifting points of view, so it can become difficult to follow the film
One way to tell when the point of view shifts is when a character begins narrating
The flashbacks and flash forwards usually occur when the scene abruptly changes with a smooth transition

11. Handles Emotional Material with Restraint
When Angier’s wife dies, we see Angier drowning himself to experience his wife’s last moments
When Sarah commits suicide, the angle of the shot makes her face difficult to see
The large space around her creates a sense of despair
Her head faces downwards, making her face difficult to see and creating a sense of emptiness

12. Intent/Message
The message in The Prestige is that hard work requires dedication and sacrifice
Borden and Fallon realize the sacrifices they must make, such as sharing the same life are important for their career
This is also shown through the symbol of the caged birds and how one of two birds must be sacrificed for the act to be successful
Angier sacrifices his clones in order to make his own act successful

13. Another message is that obsession can become a destructive trait
Cutter tells Angier that “Obsession is a young man’s game,” warning him that his obsession will only lead to misery
Angier’s obsession leads to a change in his character, causing him to become willing to kill even his own clones to get his revenge on Borden
Resulting from his obsession are the deaths of Fallon, his clones, and the loss of Cutter’s support

14. Theme Nothing good can come out of an extreme obsession.
We see this theme being stated by Tesla when he discusses the creation of the machine with Angier
This is again stated by Olivia when she claims that he is obsessed
This is proven with the death of Angier who obsessed over having revenge on Borden
Fallon was executed due to his obsession with finding out Angier’s trick

15. Morality
The moral theme is that stealing another man’s work will not bring a sense of fulfillment
This is shown when Angier displays his dissatisfaction of not being able to see his audience or applause because he is the “man in the box”

16. Human Nature
The theme for human nature is that humans will go through incredible lengths to exact revenge
This is shown by Angier’s travels and methods of sabotage
His sacrifice of his clones shows that he is not afraid to kill for his goals

17. Complexity of Human Relationships
Infidelity and secrets will lead to unhappy relationships
This is shown with Borden, Fallon, Olivia, and Sarah
Olivia seems to know that there is something strange about Borden, and implicitly knows that either Borden is two people or has two personalities
The relationship with Olivia puts a strain on Sarah’s marriage, leading to her suicide

18. A Moral or Philosophical Riddle-Symbolism
Cutter’s speech in the beginning and the end is a very good example
“Now you're looking for the secret. But you won't find it because of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to work it out. You want to be fooled”
This explains how we want to be entertained, and that finding the secret will ruin the surprise

19. Symbolism Birds in cages symbolize Borden and Fallon
They live a double life, so they are forced to limit themselves socially
For the disappearing bird act to be accomplished, one bird must die
Fallon is executed while Borden lives, fooling Angier and Cutter

20. The shattered water tank symbolizes a shattered friendship
Angier’s wife died in the water tank because Borden/Fallon switched the knot
After her death, the rivalry between Angier and Borden begins

21. Subplot
The rivalry between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison mirrors that of Angier and Borden
During the scientific exposition, Alley tells the crowd that the dangers are just part of Edison’s smear campaign
Edison’s men can be seen in Colorado Springs looking for Tesla who eventually find and destroy his lab

22. Title
The movie is called The Prestige, because throughout the movie the audience tries to figure out the trick behind the movie as they are shown bits and pieces of the plot in different orders and point of views
The whole movie mirrors a magic act, with the final plot twist being the prestige

23. Story/Plot/Narrative
The plot is not given to us chronologically, but through the point-of-views of Angier and Borden as they read each others diaries
Both narrators are unreliable, since they are recounting only what is in the diary, which could be telling lies
Certain scenes in the movie are repeated as the audience goes through a change in knowledge, realizing what has really happened

24. For example, Olivia goes to Borden in one scene at Angier’s request
In a later part of the movie, the scene is replayed, except this time we see what happens next, which is when she reveals she doesn’t want to work for Angier
Another change in knowledge that contributes to the climax is Borden’s revealing to Angier that he and Fallon were twins
Another change in knowledge is when Caldlow is revealed to be Angier

25. The film begins with Borden’s quote “Are you watching closely”
Next we hear Cutter’s narration while the scene of Angier drowning plays
Borden is put on trial for his murder, and he begins reading the diary of Angier
It shows how their rivalry began after the death of Olivia, which is blamed on Borden for switching the knots
They begin to sabotage each others acts, and Angier steals the Transported Man, calling it his “The New Transported Man”

26. After Root ruins the act along with interference from Borden, Angier kidnaps Fallon to find out Borden’s method
After confronting him, Angier leaves for America to find out the secret
Meanwhile, Olivia’s affair with Borden puts a strain on his marriage, and Sarah eventually commits suicide
In Colorado, Tesla has finished creating the machine, and Angier returns to London with it

27. When Angier returns, his performances put Borden and Fallon out of business
Borden sneaks into the show, and we return to the beginning scene where Angier is drowning
Borden is executed, and Cutter becomes disgusted by his role as an unwitting accomplice because he blamed Borden in the trial
In the end, Borden shoots Angier, and reveals his secret to him—Borden and Fallon were twins who shared the same life
It ends with narration from Cutter, with a scene similar to the one played in the beginning

28. Motivation
Angier’s motivation for learning the transporting man act is his obsession for revenge on Borden
He is motivated to do so because Borden was responsible for his wife’s death
Borden’s motivation for living a double life with Fallon is to make his act successful

29. Both characters have very different reasons for practicing magic
Angier wants to “see the look on their faces,” displaying his aptitude for showmanship
Although Borden is a dreadful showman, he is a talented magician
His motivation is total dedication to the art of magic

30. Motif
“Are you watching closely” is repeated by Borden/Fallon throughout the film
The first line of the movie is this quote, and it is meant be the first clue to Borden’s secret
“No one cares about the man in the box”
This seems to give him justification for drowning his clones in water tanks every night
It shows his obsession with discovering a way of performing the transported man with him being the man the audience applauses

31. The light bulbs are shown to foreshadow a gain in knowledge, since a light bulb is a symbol of ideas
“Man's reach exceeds his imagination!”
This quote also hints at how the audience must deduce the secret while thinking “outside the box”
Multiple top hats are a repeated element in the movie
The discarded top hats are meant to symbolize the clones of Angier that will eventually turn up inside of water tanks

32. “The Great Danton!”
“It’s French”
“It’s sophisticated”
This line is spoken by Julia, and then by Angier
Angier’s repeating it signifies his acceptance of Julia’s death. After his acceptance of her death, his revenge is not over her death anymore, but for his career and obsession of the trick

33. Parallelism
Angier’s wife drowns in the tank while Cutter vainly tries to save her with an axe
Similarly, Fallon tries to save the clone in the tank by breaking it with the tank
In the first scene, it gains meaning because someone close to Angier died
The second scene is the result of the previous scene, because it was her death that would lead to events that would bring about his clones deaths

34. Borden’s Transporting man is shown with him bouncing a rubber ball, with Fallon jumping out of the other door and grabbing it
Angier’s involves the drunk actor, Root, to catch his top hat that he throws across the stage
Borden’s act is better coordinated since the twins can trust each other
Angier’s act eventually becomes ruined because Root manages to sabotage the act for Borden

35. Allegory This movie mirrors a magic act
The pledge, the turn, and the prestige
The magician takes something ordinary
The magician carries out the act and changes it
The effect of the illusion appears
Ex: The magician makes a bird disappear and brings it back

36. Characterization
All of the characters except for Angier are flat characters
As a minor character, Cutter seems to be the warm hearted father figure in their lives, guiding Angier in his career
Although he is initially Angier’s friend, he eventually becomes disgusted by Angier’s actions
Olivia originally loves Angier, but his obsession leads her to betray him and join Borden, causing a strain on Sarah’s marriage

37. Sarah helps provide clues on the Borden/Fallon secret due to her “Do you love me today” quote
She is able to tell when the twins switch, but to her its two Borden’s in one body
Tesla creates the machine for Angier, as well as gives him advice
In addition, his situation with Edison parallels the rivalry of Angier and Borden

38. Julia becomes the initial reason that Angier sought revenge on Borden, because her death was Borden’s fault
Jess does not change throughout the film, but both Borden and Fallon seem to care for her equally
She seems to embody neutrality and innocence in the film

39. Borden and Fallon are flat characters
Fallon has a quicker temper and is usually seen yelling or being angry
Borden is the much more relaxed one, and is the one that loves Sarah
Whenever someone goes into the same room they are both in, Fallon immediately leaves
We don’t know enough about their character except that one loves magic and the other loves Sarah, and that they are both dedicated to their trick

40. Robert Angier develops the most throughout the film
Angier seems to be hard to please, and is extremely obsessed with getting revenge and discovering Borden’s method
Initially he is not comfortable with “getting his hands dirty”
As the film develops he becomes more obsessed with finding out Borden’s trick, leading to him learning to make sacrifices
His obsession causes him to estrange himself from his friends

41. The antagonist and protagonist of this film is not very clear
At some times we think Borden is the antagonist and that Angier is the protagonist, but the audience’s opinion constantly changes as new events develop in the film
We initially see the protagonist as Angier because his wife died, and Borden as the antagonist since he sabotages Angier
This view changes as his character develops and he begins making sacrifices

42. Point of View
The point of view shifts depending on whose diary is being read
The narrators’ knowledge is limited because they are reading from diaries that could contain false information
This is called Restricted Narration
Most of the shots are shown in the character’s point of view, depending on who is narrating at the time

43. We can tell whose point of view it is by the person that begins reading the diary
In addition, the character that is focused upon in the scene is usually the point of view

44. Setting Victorian Era London Colorado Springs Fallon’s prison cell
Late 1890-early 1900s
The film takes place in the present with Fallon reading Angier’s diary, which leads to a series of flashbacks and alternating points of view

45. Dialogue/Quotes
“This is the trick. This is the performance. Right here. This is why no one can detect his method. Total devotion to his art. A lot of self sacrifice.” Borden
This quote is very important as it signifies one of Borden’s ideals that the magician should be dedicated to his trick
This also gives a clue to the Borden secret

46. “Take a minute to consider your achievement
“Take a minute to consider your achievement. I once told you about a sailor who drowned. ” Cutter
“Yes, he said it was like going home.” Angier
“I lied. He said it was agony.” Cutter
This last bit of dialogue between Cutter and Angier shows their falling out.
Cutter is disgusted by Angier’s actions and his own part in helping him frame the innocent Fallon

47. Important Scenes 50 minutes 45 seconds
The “cost” he is referring to is not referring to the money, but alluding to the price of his obsession
Tesla is also obsessed with something, and knows the obsession will only bring destruction

48. 1hour 11 minutes
In this scene, Angier states how he doesn’t care about his wife anymore, and that he only wants to find out the secret
At this point, Angier is no longer out for revenge, but to satisfy his obsession

49. 1 hour 58 minutes 40 seconds
Borden explains his secret to Angier, and tells him about the true meaning of sacrifice

50. Why Did He Kill The Clones?
Angier doesn’t like to share his glory as shown when he displays his dissatisfaction over his version of the transporting man
He was planning to frame Borden for murder
He didn’t think of doing the trick in a similar fashion to Borden/Fallon

51. Is Angier American?
Earlier in the film Angier’s wife Julia says that he is leading a double life
Borden’s diary tells Angier to enjoy his “American home”
He has no accent, despite Hugh Jackman being a good enough actor to produce one

52. Angier and Lord Caldlow
Angier and Lord Caldlow are the same
Cutter discusses Borden with Angier in the beginning, saying that he has a past almost “as obscure as your own”
He had his name changed so that he would not embarrass his rich family
He resumes his identity as Lord Caldlow after framing Borden

53. Thanks For Watching!