The Prestige

Christopher Nolan is so good at playing with time in his films, it’s incredible. His ability to structure a nonlinear story is brilliant. I do have to say that it’s pretty obvious that Borden and Angier mirror the relationship with Einstein and Tesla, which is a very odd detail to bring attention to. I do think it stresses 2 types of motivators when it comes to obsession and pushing innovation to the brink. Angier and Einstein represent a slightly more self gratifying form of obsession. Being motivated by fame and glory or as Angrier so poetically puts it when confronted by Borden on his motivations “You never understood why we did this. The audience knows the truth, the world is simple, and miserable, and solid all the way through. But if you could fool them even for a second, then you can make them wonder, then you got to see something very special, it was the look on there faces”. Angier could have said many things when posed this challenge, wether rivalry or to honor the passing of his late wife, but instead he opts for the look on his audiences faces as he basks in there marvel. However, this does not resonate with Borden in the slightest. Much like Tesla he is motivated by a passion or love for the craft. He is willing to sacrifice and push the boundaries further than what anyone would think is possible purely for the love of the pursuit. Even at the very beginning Nolan practically smacks us in the face with this theme when Borden and Angier are asked to solve a trick that involves the disappearance of a fishbowl full of water and a goldfish. Borden instantly notices that the man is hunched over and limping, and pins this as he has been faking a limp his whole life in order to conceal the fish bowl for just a few seconds of glory when doing this trick. When posed this potential solution to the trick Angeir instantly dismisses it not being able to comprehend someone dedicating so much to such a simple trick. Lao Tzu puts this idea very simply “The man who loves walking will walk further than the man who loves the destination”.