Many of the clues related to Angier are laid out in the opening prologue: the opening shot of multiple top-hats indicates that Teslas cloning machine does in fact work; Angier is using blind stage-hands so that they will not be able to see the drowned duplicates and report any ominous occurrences to the authorities; additionally we have the prologue shot of Angier drowning (and the key final shot of the movie showing one of the dead drowned duplicates which confirms everything). There is also the curious comment that Tesla makes to Angier when he begins to understand his intentions: Have you considered the cost? The cost he is referring to manifests itself as the process of perpetual murder- effectively killing oneself night after night would take its toll. I called Teslas machine a cloning machine above, but I dont think that clone is an apt term for the copy of Angier that is created, because of the pejorative implications the word carries. Teslas machine duplicates Angier, so in essence both men are the real Angier. Consequently both Angiers are governed by the same all-consuming obsession, narcissism and the desire to be the man on stage during The Prestige, which is why Angier can never allow a copy to live. He is unwilling and unable to make the sacrifice that Borden has made, effectively taking a shortcut, and this is the cost that Tesla refers to. One element I find fascinating in this paradoxical ritual of sacrifice and rebirth is the fact that the duplicated Angier who appears on stage during The Prestige will never actually have the memory of being the man drowning in the water cell. From his perspective he has stepped into the machine a set number of times and has come out alive the same number of times. From the perspective of the drowning Angier it will be the first time he has drowned each night but he will never be able to relate the abject horror of his death to the other Angier: the memory dies along with the drowning man. This is why Cutters admission of the true horror of drowning (he said it was agony) is devastating to Angier, since his only solace in his uninterrupted string of murders was in falsely believing that drowning was like going home... (a lie Cutter had uttered initially in order to ease Angiers pain in relation to the manner of his wifes death). **The list of clues is by no means exhaustive- I am happy to discuss additional clues in the comments below.
Many of the clues related to Angier are laid out in the opening prologue: the opening shot of multiple top-hats indicates that Teslas cloning machine does in fact work; Angier is using blind stage-hands so that they will not be able to see the drowned duplicates and report any ominous occurrences to the authorities; additionally we have the prologue shot of Angier drowning (and the key final shot of the movie showing one of the dead drowned duplicates which confirms everything). There is also the curious comment that Tesla makes to Angier when he begins to understand his intentions: Have you considered the cost? The cost he is referring to manifests itself as the process of perpetual murder- effectively killing oneself night after night would take its toll. I called Teslas machine a cloning machine above, but I dont think that clone is an apt term for the copy of Angier that is created, because of the pejorative implications the word carries. Teslas machine duplicates Angier, so in essence both men are the real Angier. Consequently both Angiers are governed by the same all-consuming obsession, narcissism and the desire to be the man on stage during The Prestige, which is why Angier can never allow a copy to live. He is unwilling and unable to make the sacrifice that Borden has made, effectively taking a shortcut, and this is the cost that Tesla refers to. One element I find fascinating in this paradoxical ritual of sacrifice and rebirth is the fact that the duplicated Angier who appears on stage during The Prestige will never actually have the memory of being the man drowning in the water cell. From his perspective he has stepped into the machine a set number of times and has come out alive the same number of times. From the perspective of the drowning Angier it will be the first time he has drowned each night but he will never be able to relate the abject horror of his death to the other Angier: the memory dies along with the drowning man. This is why Cutters admission of the true horror of drowning (he said it was agony) is devastating to Angier, since his only solace in his uninterrupted string of murders was in falsely believing that drowning was like going home... (a lie Cutter had uttered initially in order to ease Angiers pain in relation to the manner of his wifes death). **The list of clues is by no means exhaustive- I am happy to discuss additional clues in the comments below.