prince0gotham wrote:No, I mean the twins not taking turns would've compromised their mission. They would've been spotted at the same time in different places.

But what if they split? One live perminantly as Barden and the other as Fallon. They could still perform the Transported Man, but outside the theatre they could have their own seperate, personal lives.

MW715 wrote:

prince0gotham wrote:No, I mean the twins not taking turns would've compromised their mission. They would've been spotted at the same time in different places.

But what if they split? One live perminantly as Barden and the other as Fallon. They could still perform the Transported Man, but outside the theatre they could have their own seperate, personal lives.

I doubt there would be much personal life thing for the one doing the Fallon thing if he has a love interest. Make up would be spotted. Besides, let's say the one doing the Fallon doesn't wear make up while being with his girl... that would be very risky if that woman ever sees Borden's show. Fallon will have a lot to explain and he needs to be in the same town with Borden which pretty much forces him to do what they did in the movie.

prince0gotham wrote:No, I mean the twins not taking turns would've compromised their mission. They would've been spotted at the same time in different places.

Yeah, probably but where was Fallon in the beginning? That's my question... I don't think he existed already, he had no reason to exist back then. So how did it work? If the brother already took turns why was it?

Batcat wrote:

prince0gotham wrote:No, I mean the twins not taking turns would've compromised their mission. They would've been spotted at the same time in different places.

Yeah, probably but where was Fallon in the beginning? That's my question... I don't think he existed already, he had no reason to exist back then. So how did it work? If the brother already took turns why was it?

Borden was probably planning the transported man trick for years. Maybe Borden lived somewhere else growing up as normal twins, but once they decided to be magicians, they moved away and started living one life to prepare for the transported man trick.

steveportee wrote:

Batcat wrote: Yeah, probably but where was Fallon in the beginning? That's my question... I don't think he existed already, he had no reason to exist back then. So how did it work? If the brother already took turns why was it?

Borden was probably planning the transported man trick for years. Maybe Borden lived somewhere else growing up as normal twins, but once they decided to be magicians, they moved away and started living one life to prepare for the transported man trick.

When Borden shows up in the film, he has no family or friends to speak of. It seems to me that him and his brother came up with the idea for the Transported Man and left they're lives behind. It's said that Borden was no stranger to the work houses, perhaps they were orphans. By the time they met Cutter and Angier they would have already had the whole secretive lifestyle thing worked out to some extent and cut ties with anyone they used to know.

Thanks for these answers

It must be that then. But it didn't seem to me at the beginning that Borden was already planning it. I thought he had this idea when he saw the old man who was living all his life pretending so that the magic trick worked.

Yes. It's the organizing metaphor for the film. There are two sets of doubles (first the two magicians, and then the doubles within each set). In each case one dies so that the other can live. And then the same logic holds between the two sets. The film itself follows the structure of a magic act, concluding with the death of one of the magicians and "resurrection" of the other ("the prestige").

My reading is that the film is asking us to consider our complicity in the things that entertain us. We know from the start that this sort of magic is impossible -- and yet we still go to watch. This is the same question raised with the drowning of the girl early on. Really clever!

trevelyan wrote:Yes. It's the organizing metaphor for the film. There are two sets of doubles (first the two magicians, and then the doubles within each set). In each case one dies so that the other can live. And then the same logic holds between the two sets. The film itself follows the structure of a magic act, concluding with the death of one of the magicians and "resurrection" of the other ("the prestige").

My reading is that the film is asking us to consider our complicity in the things that entertain us. We know from the start that this sort of magic is impossible -- and yet we still go to watch. This is the same question raised with the drowning of the girl early on. Really clever!

Agree with most of it, but what do you mean by bringing up Julia's death? Is it like Cutter says, if you look for an accident you're likely to see one? Kind of confused...

I didn't remember that line, but it certainly fits.

trevelyan wrote:I didn't remember that line, but it certainly fits.

When Borden is talking about some new fresh... like a Bullet Catch.

the Bird trick is a metaphor, like where's the kid goes... where's his brother?? those references are hinting ever so slightly to the revelation.