20 Things You Somehow Missed In The Prestige

5. Prefiguring A Hanging

The Prestige
Warner Bros. Pictures/Buena Vista Pictures

Hanging is a recurring motif in The Prestige.

Angier's wife, Julia is dangled from a rope before being plunged into the water tank that costs her her life; Sarah hangs herself when she cannot live with her matrimonial difficulties nay longer, and Borden himself is seemingly hanged for Angier's perceived murder.

However, in quite a telling nod to Borden's fate, the abandoned theatre that Angier is using to store Tesla's machine has a structure that may or may not be a scaffold for hanging people.

Of course, in a film incorporating magic acts, the structure may purely be another illusion, but it bears a striking resemblance to the infamous means of dispensing capital punishment in Britain at the time.

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I started writing for WhatCulture in July 2020. I have always enjoyed reading and writing. I have contributed to several short story competitions and I have occasionally been fortunate enough to have my work published. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I also started reviewing films on my Facebook page. Numerous friends and contacts suggested that I should start my own website for reviewing films, but I wanted something a bit more diverse - and so here I am! My interests focus on film and television mainly, but I also occasionally produce articles that venture into other areas as well. In particular, I am a fan of the under appreciated sequel (of which there are many), but I also like the classics and the mainstream too.