Today, there’s a particularly exciting mystery drama on TV that boasts heaps of stars like Scarlett Johansson. But the ending also packs a huge punch.
You can watch one of the most exciting films Christopher Nolan has ever made on TV tonight: Prestige – The Masters of Magic not only combines a bombastic cast, but also nerve-wracking suspense with a certain opulence. And then there’s the ending, which is guaranteed to pull the rug out from under your feet
This is what Prestige – The Masters of Magic is all about
First they worked together as assistants, later they became bitter enemies: The two magicians Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) compete for the audience and the best magic trick at the end of the 20th century.
After Angier’s assistant and wife Julia McCullough (Piper Perabo) drowns during a failed magic trick, Angier commits an act of sabotage against Borden. He loses two fingers as a result of the assassination and any respect that ever existed between the two is lost forever.
In the end, everything revolves around the magic trick “The Transported Man”. Borden’s trick almost drives Angier out of his mind: he simply can’t figure out how the magic act works, even though he puts his assistant Olivia Wenscombe (Scarlett Johansson) up to it. After a few years, however, Angier manages to put together his own version of the trick, which is quite something
(In addition to Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, Prestige also stars Scarlett Johansson and Michael Caine)
The ending of Prestige – The Masters of Magic is one of the nastiest there is
At the very end of Prestige, we learn how the two different magic tricks work. The result is the same, but they could hardly be more different in their approach. However, both methods have one thing in common: When watching the movie for the first time, few people are likely to guess what’s behind it.
Warning, spoilers! Angier only appears to drown, but Borden is accused of his murder and hanged. But Angier is apparently alive and well in the audience during the execution, and there is also a doppelganger of Borden, who ultimately shoots Angier.
This is the solution: Christian Bale’s Alfred Borden has a twin brother named Bernard Fallon. Since their youth, the two siblings have been hiding the fact that they are identical twins. Not even his wife Sarah and his lover Olivia know about it. Fallon even removes the two fingers that Borden has lost.
Angier’s approach to the trick The Transported Man turns out to be much more sinister: He’s been given a machine by Nikola Tesla (David Bowie!) that allows him to duplicate himself. Every time he performs the trick, his clone drowns.
More from Christopher Nolan: Probably the best film of the year on Amazon – it runs for 180 minutes and is captivating right up to the breathtaking end
At Amazon you can get Prestige – The Masters of Magic in an exclusive limited edition steelbook
