Common sense and context. There are contextual cues that tell us that what we are seeing is a flashback, whether a flashback to a dream or reality, just as there would be in any movie we might see. There are also contextual clues that tell us whether or not what we are seeing is dream or reality (a...

Don't abuse Occam's razor. The simplest theory that FITS THE FACTS is usually the correct one, and the fact is that a married man who doesn't wear a wedding ring, especially on his anniversary, is going to be in deep s**t with his wife.

The question is "what are the pertinent facts?"

Ugggggggggggh...NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Sorry haha. But I've had to read a ton of Lacan these past couple weeks for a film theory course. Just spinnin' in my head. So basically this is a psychoanalytical way of viewing this sequence. Lacan stated that we all go through a stage in our life he called the "M...

Well, we're dealing with three different types of scene within the movie: present reality, past reality and layers of dream. All we need is a simple principle that determines which of the three we're seeing. I think I've provided that. Here's the problem though: there are also flashbacks to dreams ...

Which is simpler? "Ring shows dream?" Or "Ring shows dream except in flashbacks?" Going with the simpler "ring shows dream," Mal's suicide took place in a dream. But why should we throw common sense out the window (pun intended)? Common sense tells us that married people wear wedding rings. The rin...

I'm on "Team Dream," and I discount none of the movie's logic. All of my explanations are based on the rules laid out in the movie. Is there a post or thread you could point me towards? Something that sums up your view? I'd be curious to see it... I haven't laid it all out in one place. But we can ...

Not at all. He wears the ring in dream sequences because he's still with Mal in dreams and flashbacks because he's still with Mal in reality then. It would be weird if he wasn't wearing the ring in that scene as Mal is still alive and they're still married. I'm not sure how that fails to be parsimo...

He throws a false indicator at you (the top) that seems clever and ingenious but, when closely examined, falls apart and turns out to be completely irrelevant - a red herring. But! The director sneaks in a simple and hard to spot (unless you know to look for it) visual cue that accurately and simpl...

The whole story could be Cobb's dream. The whole story being a dream doesn't mean reality doesn't exist ... just that we (the audience) never get to see what reality is. I find "team reality" is a cheaper, sloppier storytelling than "team dream." There are too many plotholes to be filled by "team r...

I really want to like the Prestige, but I can't call it a "great" movie without that being explained somehow.