Speaker 1: How do you write the perfect plot twist? Well, I believe Christopher Nolan's 2006 film, The Prestige, is the perfect tutorial to answer that question. Nolan so brilliantly nails every twist fundamental on the head, and it results in one of the most memorable subversions in film from those who have seen it. So why does everyone love this twist so much? Well, I believe there are three major checkboxes that, if you tick all of, almost guarantees your story a great twist. Also, before we get started, I mean this more than any other video of mine, I will be spoiling this film, so please don't rob yourself of seeing this thing blind if you haven't. Alright, checkbox one, unpredictability. Now this isn't to say that a predictable twist can't be enjoyed. There is a genuine type of satisfaction that comes with your prediction being validated, I get that. But as a general rule of thumb, I think most of us would rather have that cathartic aha moment where all the pieces click together simultaneously. Now like every aspect we'll discuss in this video, it's all a great balancing act. If you lean too far one way, you'll stumble into a don't worry darling situation where you can see the reveal coming from the premise blurb alone. But lean too far the other, and you'll end up with The Last Jedi where subversions happen out of thin air. Both result in a disappointed consensus. The key to all of this is being fair to your audience. There has to be enough pretending there to give the viewer an honest shot, yet still enough distractions to keep them off the right path. This way, the audience will be thoroughly satisfied in either outcome. If they see it coming, it's genuinely gratifying because they feel like they've had to overcome some sort of challenge. And if you fool them, you hit that coveted pot-to-sweet spot where everything all of a sudden seems so obvious in hindsight. So how do you combat your own hints?

Speaker 2: We don't use any of it for the show, but I've seen it hidden backstage.

Speaker 1: It's misdirection. Exactly. Misdirection is the one thing keeping the audience from the truth. In this case, Nolan's goal is to hide in plain sight that Borden had a twin brother sharing his identity the entire time. And just like a magician, he is smug as hell about this secret to the point where he basically tells it to the audience.

Speaker 3: How does he do it? He uses a double. No, no, no, no. It's too simple. This is a complex illusion. You only say that because you don't know the method.

Speaker 1: It's a double that comes out at the end. It's the only way. This is Nolan's favorite way to misdirect, by just showing his hand. Since the audience, as well as Robert, are convinced that it's never that simple, we dismiss it and actively search for red herrings. Because that's what humans do. We overthink the hell out of everything and make it ten times harder than it needs to be. This happens multiple times within Gere's character. From his initial viewing of the trick, to even after Olivia went to work for Borden. It works so damn well because we have a sympathetic character to be confused with. Every scene he's in, it seamlessly facilitates doubt in the idea of a double. Now how about we take a look at everything that misdirection was fighting against. Checkbox 2 is, of course, foreshadowing. Now this is a dense film. It clocks in at a healthy 130 minutes, and not one of those is fluff. Every scene is actively enhancing some subversion to come, and it makes this film rewatchable as all heck. For example, very early on, we see this bird trick, in which the cage is seemingly turned to dust, yet the bird is reborn from this flower. It's later revealed that this trick was done with two birds, and the first one was literally flattened by the cage. Now that sounds very similar to the exact execution of The Transported Man. The concept of doubles is showcased from The Gecko, and is truly what this film is all about, even if that only becomes apparent in the last 10 minutes. Every line Christian Bale utters is oozing with so much foreshadowing to the point where it feels like you're somehow being gaslit on a second watch. The easiest way to monitor which twin is which is with their conversations with Sarah. And dude, if this isn't sheer mastery of the art of subtext, then I don't know what is. There's this recurring motif of sorts that happens whenever one of the twins assures Sarah that he loves her, and she sees right through it every time. Nolan really plays to this notion, and showcases how this act disrupts their lives. Both twins completely fumble the relationship of their brother. There's this great dinner scene where the brother of Sarah's husband doesn't give her the time of day and just soaks up the glory of the job. And while he's enamored by magic, his brother is there as Fallon trying to come for his own daughter. This film is just so thoroughly rewarding to inquisitive viewers, as the depth of every scene is literally doubled when you start asking questions. On a first viewing, you think this guy is nothing more than an unfaithful slimeball, but then the twins become these deeply tragic characters with full context. It's heartbreaking as hell when you realize all those times they assured their significant others of their loyalty were honest. One of my favorite and most blatant examples of this dynamic is this little lunch with

Speaker 4: Olivia.

Speaker 1: The flip of this line from being figurative to literal is like a splash of cold water in the face as Nolan basically spells it out in capital letters for you. The twist of the prestige doesn't feel like a cheap trick tacked on at the end for shock value in the slightest. It's this aversion that actively puts so much more meat on the bones of an already buff as hell screenplay. And I think that sentiment makes for a nice segue into our final checkbox. Checkbox three, thematic relevance. By far the most genius thing this twist does is fully complete the message of the film. Now this movie is extremely nuanced, which means there's going to be several completely valid thematic interpretations across its audience. And that's great. That's like the point of art. But my personal takeaway that I feel radiates through every plot line is the notion that obsession will inevitably lead to sacrifice. This statement's already pretty thoroughly developed through Angier's story alone. This prank war of theirs loses him Olivia, his leg, his sanity. The man dumps thousands of dollars into a machine, a machine that he then uses to kill and clone himself every single night for the sake of outdoing his competition. Robert's insatiable hunger to one-up Alfred is his own worst enemy. This is a fantastic script. You already know that. But one of my favorite lines is Mr. Tessel's warning to Robert right before the construction of the machine.

Speaker 3: You're familiar with the phrase, man's reach exceeds his grasp, is the line. Man's grasp exceeds his nerve.

Speaker 1: Mr. Bowie suggests here that humanity's true struggle isn't latching onto our dreams. It's letting go of them when they become detrimental. And that perspective is immaculately presented through our two, technically three leads. The reveal of the true misery within Borden's life extends the exploration of a theme that was already developed enough for most films. But Mr. Nolan doesn't make most films, does he now? For much of the runtime, it's depicted as if Alfred is living the perfect life. Engier's plagued by jealousy when in reality, his sacrifices make Engier's look like child's play. While the Alfred twins might have arrogantly thought they were prepared for sacrifice, at least compared to Engier, they too find themselves in over their heads. Whether it's losing fingers, significant others, or even a brother, the repercussions of compulsion were still unavoidable despite being as selfless as they could be. A huge reason why this twist is so damn good is because it introduces a whole new plotline. A plotline that warrants its existence in the same thematic space as the present story, strengthening that existing narrative tenfold. I'll always consider The Prestige extremely underrated within Nolan's catalog. It's damn hard to stand up to the likes of The Dark Knight and Inception, but The Prestige stands on its own two feet as a near-perfect motion picture with so much memorability. I'll always be fascinated with how the movie is like a magic trick in itself. It perfectly balances every clue, red herring, and thematic relation throughout to make for the most thrilling subversion I've seen in a film of recent memory. Now obviously there's a lot I couldn't cover as it would take all day to cover the full genius of this film, so I'd love to hear any of your personal favorite pieces of dialogue, foreshadowing, or any other filmmaking moves you appreciated in the comments below. Thank you so much for sticking around to the end, and as always, I hope you have a fantastic day.