The 2006 Christopher Nolan classic introduced us to Robert Angier and Alfred Borden and we have still been asking questions about them and their tricks.
The film left me asking a lot of questions and some of them we can only speculate because Nolan leaves it for us to decide. In the climax, Angier (Hugh Jackman) is shot by Borden (Christian Bale) but considering the number of times Angier dies and reappears, it is hard to say if the one who died was the original Angier or not.
Going by the details, the original Angier did die by the end of the film. But the question is not if he died, but WHEN he died. He could have died while performing his play out of the many times that he did, or he could be the one shot by Borden in the climax.
If we are to count the number of times Angier actually dies, we have to first make sure how many Angiers are there and whether each of them is dead, all of which is deliberately kept ambiguous to us.
Nolan lives up to the words his characters speak. In the final scene, there are incredible lines which say, “The audience knows the truth: the world is simple. It’s miserable, solid all the way through. But if you could fool them, even for a second, then you can make them wonder, and then you… then you got to see something really special.”
Indeed, the world is simple but yet Nolan makes us wonder about the secrets that he never revealed. Now why am I quoting lines from the iconic film? What I mean is, the film doesn’t give us direct answers.
For example, Is there at all an original Angier? Or are there multiple?
1. Did The Original Angier Die?
What we can say for sure is original Angier does die by the end of the film. It is implied that the original Angier was actually alive when Borden was arrested for the alleged murder of Angier. But we’re still debating which one of all the dead Angiers is the OG one and when exactly he died.
The one who Borden actually saw dying and is framed for the murder of, was a doppelganger of original Angier (or is he?), who was created with the use of Telsa’s machine which Angier used for his trick.
It is not explained how, but original Angier somehow managed to escape and takes up the name Lord Caldwell, a billionaire. He remains in disguise and still remains obsessed with acquiring the secret behind Borden’s magic trick “The Transported Man.”
Cutter discovers that he is still alive when he meets Lord Caldwell to convince him to destroy the infamous machine. Caldwell aka Angier actually wanted to buy the machine after he framed his so-called death.
But that is if you want a completely direct answer. The film does not follow a linear narrative, so it difficult to unambiguously come to a conclusion. By Original Angier, we mean the Angier who began using Telsa’s machine.
But there is no way to say for sure whether the Angier who died in the end and poses as Lord Caldwell is actually the original Angier. I think he could very well be one of the doppelgangers.
So before the climax, all the times we see Angier die could actually be the death of his doppelgangers. But there is never one explanation to this question. For all you know, Borden actually shot a doppelganger and original Angier died much before.
2. How Many Times Does Angier Kill Himself?
There is no one number to pinpoint at the number of times Angier was killed but if we consider the ones we have seen, it is twice that he kills himself and once that he is shot by Borden in The Prestige’s climax.
Here’s the times we see Angier killing himself in the film. Once, he does a trial run of the machine and sees a doppelganger of himself whom he shoots on spot. Then of course, there is the death by drowning which frames Borden for the murder of Angier. But I am sure those aren’t the only times.
Technically, every time he performs the play of the Transported Man using the machine, a doppelganger of himself is created. So to get on with his play, he had to shoot them down every time.
There is also the time when he does a demo of the play for convincing the sponsors to give them sponsorship for performing the play. So he most likely had to kill his doppelganger then as well.
Besides considering Angier’s obsession, he obviously tried the play more than once off stage so there were kills then as well.
So, Angier killed his doppelgangers every time he performed the Transported Man. At the end, we see multiple Angiers being burnt down and the last remaining Angier was the one to set them on fire in the theatre.
So, there existed multiple Angiers and only one of them was the original Angier who began it all. Unless we know the number of Angiers that existed, we cannot say how many times he was killed, can we?
3. When Did The Original Angier Die?
The thing with Christopher Nolan films is that whether it impresses you or not, it definitely confuses you.
Though we are led to believe the original Angier actually died in the end of the film in the hands of Borden, what if he was just one of the doppelgangers? It is completely viable.
The reason why I said he could be the original Angier is because of the conversations he had and the way he explained himself.
It is not clear whether the doppelgangers created by the machine were just alike in appearance or in intellect, personality and most significantly, do the doppelgangers have the same memory as the original Angier?
Do they know the journey of original Angier? This is important because if they don’t, then there is no way the Angier who died at the end is a doppelganger.
Recall the climax: Borden’s twin and Angier has a conversation which only the Angier who knew about the whole journey could have had. So, unless Angier’s doppelgangers have the same memory as him, how is that possible?
But it is also possible that every Angier were in their core, the same. That is actually what is implied in the film because the machine is supposed to create exact clones of Angier. So the surviving Angiers could all be doppelgangers.
This alternate theory which makes a lot of sense if you actually considering the philosophical standpoint of the film. In one scene, Angier says that he never knew if it would be the newly created doppelganger or he himself who would be sacrificed. Now every time Angier performs the play, one of the two Angiers die.
So, if there is a chance of the original Angier dying instead of the doppelganger, then it is possible that the original Angier died while performing his plays one of the many times that he did.
When he performs the play, one of the Angiers fall below through the trapdoor while one appears behind the audience. The idea is, Nolan leaves it for us to decide which is which. Classic Nolan, isn’t it?
I personally tilt more towards this theory considering the symbolic idea of the film and how it deals with identity. The two lead characters are both ambiguous in identity. We never know which Angier is doing what and neither do we know which of the two Borden twins is doing what.
The treatment of identity in the Prestige is significant, because it is identity that leads our protagonists to the edge. By manipulating identity, they reach their pinnacles of success and the classic climax symbolically represents how futile all of this was.
Angier’s death is like Schrodinger’s death, he is alive and dead at the same time. Even if the original him is dead, his copies are alive.
Considering his doppelgangers are exactly him in every way, how do we differentiate between the two Angiers? At their core, they are both Angier.
So I’ll just say it. There is no original Angier in the first place.
Each copy of Angier is as original as the previous one. So us trying to differentiate between them is just Nolan messing with our heads. He literally goes on record and says the audience likes getting fooled. Come on now!!
The paradigm of confused identity is at the core of Nolan’s narrative and by pinpointing at one original Angier, we are only oversimplifying it because at least to me, there is no real Angier. And if all Angiers are the same, we never know when one particular one of them died.
So whether you believe that original Angier survived and was killed by Borden or he died much earlier and the one who is shot in the climax is a doppelganger, Nolan’s point is pretty clear:
Angier sacrificed himself every night he performed the trick and he definitely sacrificed his original self (I mean the dude who began all of this by using the machine), one way or the other.
4. Does Angier Die Every time?
Angier’s version of the Transported Man uses Telsa’s machine. The machine basically creates a clone of the figure or object standing within the machine. In this case, Angier.
So every time Angier performs the play, a doppelganger of him is created. Either one has to sacrifice the other. So yes, Angier did die every time the play is performed.
But again, we cannot say for sure that none of the doppelgangers survived. How else do we explain multiple Angiers being burnt down in the climax? But with Borden shooting down Lord Caldwell, who is Angier’s final clone IMO, all the Angiers meet their end.
It is possible that original Angier died the very first time he performed the trick. Remember the scene where one Angier is shot by his clone, a flashback we see during Caldwell’s speech in the climax?
Before he was shot, he was trying to say something. Maybe he was the original Angier! But his newly created doppelganger shot him dead.
Otherwise, original Angier is the one who was killed by Borden, which again is unlikely because Angier himself says that it was never clear who among him or his new doppelganger would survive during the play.
Going by this theory, the last Angier or Lord Caldwell was basically a copy of a copy of a copy and so on. Hope that made sense.
5. How Did Angier Know Not To Appear?
That is the whole point of the trick. Angier never knew whether he is supposed to appear or not. Besides, he never needed to know.
Every time the play was performed, one of the Angiers was sacrificed immediately while the other appeared before the audience. In the scene where Borden discovers Angier drowning, it is one of the Angiers who was drowned so that he dies, while another one appeared on stage.
The twist is, we never know which is which and this exceptional construction of the plot and its nuances is what makes The Prestige one of the classics of cinema.
6. About The Prestige
The Prestige is a 2006 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan, written by Nolan and his brother Jonathan, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Christopher Priest. It follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century. Obsessed with creating the best stage illusion, they engage in competitive one-upmanship, with fatal results.
The film stars Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier and Christian Bale as Alfred Borden. It also stars Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine, Piper Perabo, Andy Serkis, Rebecca Hall, and David Bowie as Nikola Tesla. The Prestige was released on October 20, 2006, to positive reviews and moderate box-office returns, grossing $109 million worldwide against a production budget of $40 million. It garnered Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.
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