Who is Borden? Who is Fallon?

The 2006 film about rival magicians desperately trying to learn the secrets of each others tricks.
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steveportee wrote: It's a nice idea but if you really think about it, it just doesn't add up. The Tesla Machine that Borden used on stage was just for show, it didn't actually do anything. When Angier confronted Alley, he admitted that Tesla never built the type of machine for Borden that Angier was looking for.

Also, when Angier uses the machine on stage, Borden is dumbfounded. He has no idea how the trick works. Now if Borden had used a similar machine to clone himself, then he would understand how Angier's machine works.
That's right. I totally forgot about that. Good point.

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Pat S. wrote:Sorry if I'm repeating someone's question but has anyone brought up the idea that the 2nd Borden is a clone? Remember, Borden had Tesla make a machine just like Angiers'. Instead of killing his clone, he kept it around knowing that they could make something out of it. And....at the end when Angier says: "A brother....a twin?" Borden doesn't confirm that they were brothers. Anybody else think about that or am I just crazy?
I have literally told everyone I know who saw the movie about this theory. It was the first conclusion that came to my mind the first time I saw the movie! Everyone told me I was dumb haha, its nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks this! There are many points in the movie which disprove this but there are also many points that prove it. Well done.

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QuailmanJR wrote:For sake of discussion, I'll refer to "Borden" as the one who loves Sarah, and "Fallon" will be the one who loved Olivia.

Is "Borden" both the performer and the engineer? Personally I think so (see long explanation below). Does that mean that "Fallon" has no role other than for the Transported Man?

**Another question: Who gets buried by Caine and Angier? I thought it was Fallon dressed as Fallon because shortly after (at dinner) Fallon dressed as Borden jokes "I have a new trick, I'm going to bury myself alive" and acts like a d*ck at dinner.

So yeah, I think Borden is the performer and the engineer. Here are some key points
-We first see this when the idea of Fallon is first introduced and Borden is dressed as Fallon. The "useless twin" is dressed up as Borden, and Borden (the magician/engineer) is dressed as Fallon to explain the "gun shot" trick as an actual engineer. The useless twin then exclaims "we have to tell Fallon (borden)!" when Sarah says she's preg-o and then she later says "not today" about loving her so yeah, it's "Fallon" as Borden and "Borden" is Fallon to be the engineer.
-"Borden" is the performer for the gun shot trick because we know "Fallon" cuts his fingers off and gets pissed around Sarah and says we can't afford a doctor (he never wants to spend money, Borden buys her the apartment and everything).
-"Borden" tells "Fallon" to try to take his daughter to the zoo while "Borden" does magic-related work with Olivia. If "Fallon" knew how to be an engineer, wouldn't he go with Olivia and Borden could be with his family?

It seems like Borden is just the man and Fallon is relatively useless, but still a good PERFORMER nonetheless. That's why the trick works. Not useless, that sounds bad. You know what I'm saying...
as previously stated "they took turns".. a disturbing prospect (which might have been mentioned in some other topic)
is that the twin who fell in love with Sarah was not the biological father (even twins have differences in their genomes)..
this may well be the reason Sarah killed herself.. knowing that she had been "shared" by twins..
this would also explain the fatherly concern displayed by the twin who was sentenced to die (when faced by his daughter)..

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MSUspartans2211 wrote:
Pat S. wrote:Sorry if I'm repeating someone's question but has anyone brought up the idea that the 2nd Borden is a clone? Remember, Borden had Tesla make a machine just like Angiers'. Instead of killing his clone, he kept it around knowing that they could make something out of it. And....at the end when Angier says: "A brother....a twin?" Borden doesn't confirm that they were brothers. Anybody else think about that or am I just crazy?
I have literally told everyone I know who saw the movie about this theory. It was the first conclusion that came to my mind the first time I saw the movie! Everyone told me I was dumb haha, its nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks this! There are many points in the movie which disprove this but there are also many points that prove it. Well done.
There is no Borden's clone.Remember when he tells Sarah about lock? 'You think it can keep me out?' at that time they both are perfecting the trick.And one brother is already inside the apartment.
gib sigs

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I call the first one Alfred, the second one Freddy.

Alfred loved Sarah.
Freddy loved Olivia.
Alfred was the better magician.
Freddy got the knots mixed up.
Alfred said to give up on Angier's secret, but Freddy went and decided to go under the stage.
Freddy was executed, Alfred survived.
He tells Angier in the ending, "I loved Sarah, he loved Olivia."

As to which one lost his fingers first, I think it was Freddy. I don't remember exactly.
Freddy was also the one who was buried, and got drunk after surviving near death.

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I think it was Alfred who lost his fingers first. Remember the scene where Sarah says, "I don't understand how it can be bleeding again." That sentence indicates she is talking to the brother than had his fingers chopped off later. In that scene, I sensed a little bit of hostility between the two, indicating she was talking to Freddy. Therefore, I would guess that Alfred was the one how got shot by Angier.

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steveportee wrote:I think it was Alfred who lost his fingers first. Remember the scene where Sarah says, "I don't understand how it can be bleeding again." That sentence indicates she is talking to the brother than had his fingers chopped off later. In that scene, I sensed a little bit of hostility between the two, indicating she was talking to Freddy. Therefore, I would guess that Alfred was the one how got shot by Angier.
I agree. I would also say that I'm not sure of who's a better magician. I tend to think it was Freddy.

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You are talking about the book,

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For the sake of this question, I'll use Albert and Fredrick.

They are equally good magicians.
Albert, the performer, valued how magic tricks actually turn out. He was the one who dropped the knot at the beginning, not because he's not very good but because he wanted to put on a convincing show.
Fredrick, the technician, valued more the mechanics behind a trick. He was the one who changed the knot because a tighter knot meant a better trick, regardless whether it made any difference to the audience.

Albert, who loved Sarah, is more calm and overall nicer.
Fredrick, who loved Olivia, is the more emotional (but also more intense) and more devoted.

Albert thought he saw Fredrick used the Langford double, but Fredrick didn't admit.
How often I've fought with myself over that night .. one half of me (Fredrick) swearing blind that I tied a simple
slip knot... the other half (Albert) convinced that I tied the Langford double. I suppose I'll never know for sure.

(They probably also shared the diary.)

Albert is the one who went to Julia's funeral.
Fredrick is the one who got buried.

Albert is the one who got shot.
Fredrick is the one who got his fingers cut off.

Albert lived.
Fredrick didn't.

Apart from these, there are many scenes I can't tell them apart. And I suspect Jess might actually be Fredrick's daughter.
But of course, all my opinion.

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