Growing up, I was always interested in magic tricks. My brother used to practice magic tricks with cards, ropes, and cups. We would see magicians perform, and I would try to figure out how the tricks were done, but hardly ever successful. So of course, in 2006, when not one, but two magician movies came out, I just had to see them both in the theater. I watched The Illusionist (2006) already and loved it, so now it was time to see if the other magic movie was just as good. And, spoiler alert, it was.

The Prestige (2006), co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan, is based on a novel called of the same title about two competing magicians, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) in late nineteenth century London. The men’s rivalry begins when Angier’s wife, Julia (Piper Parabo) dies during a magic trick with which they were both assisting. Angier blames Borden for his wife’s death and decides that he will spend his life destroying Borden’s career. Each attempt is met with retaliation by Borden. Then, when Borden debuts a new, unexplainable trick, The Transported Man, Angier is sent spiraling. As he desperately scrambles to learn how the trick is performed, he develops a version that is more impressive than Borden’s. Borden is then left trying to one-up Angiers, and as both of their lives begin to fall apart, we realize that these men will do anything in pursuit of ultimate success, no matter the cost. 

The cast of The Prestige is a draw in itself. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman are two acting powerhouses; Michael Caine, as John Cutter, an absolute British treasure; Scarlett Johannson, one of the up and coming it-girls of Hollywood, plays Olivia Wenscombe; and David Bowie as Nikolai Tesla! Yes, Tesla finds his way into this movie. This is kind of funny as his rivalry with Edison mirrors that of the two magicians. Anyway, everyone on the cast completely knocks it out of the park, even the lesser known actors, like Rebecca Hall as Sarah Borden, for whom The Prestige was a break-out role. Aside from the top-tier performances, it is directed by Academy Award winner Christopher Nolan. The story is riveting, even if it loses a little steam when Angier makes his way to America. I can’t recommend it enough.

From a Catholic perspective, this movie does a great job showing how hubris, anger, and jealousy can ruin your life. Without spoiling too much, I will say that these men don’t necessarily get happy endings. What begins as hurt and rage for Angier becomes entirely driven by pride by the end of this movie. Pride, the sin, is different than just being proud of your work. When one is consumed by pride, they forget that they have need of God. Pride also leads to selfishness. Other people become unimportant, or even expendable, if they get in the way of one’s goals. We can see this clearly with both men. 

Another minor spoiler to act as a warning: there is a somewhat graphic suicide as well as some difficult to watch drownings depicted. 

More Catholic analysis in the spoilers below:

In the movie, Tesla creates a machine that is capable of duplication, including of humans. This brings up the ethical dilemma of cloning. In the film, we can see how cloning only increases a sense of disposability. This supports the Catholic Church’s teaching that cloning reduces human dignity. Interestingly, the Catholic Church views human clones as people with souls, and teaches that they should be treated as such. However, cloning is often intended for purposes that eventually lead to killing of a soul. We see this in the film, how many clones of Angier needed to die before he would stop performing the trick. The Church also opposes human cloning because it insults the dignity of procreation, an act meant to occur within a loving marriage. This is the same reason the Church opposes in vitro fertilization (IVF). 

The bioethical considerations and Catholic perspectives about cloning are deeply fascinating, and there is much to still be discussed as technology continues to evolve. This movie is a great jumping off point for that kind of discussion.