8th RTF Blog Post: 3 Act Structure

In Christopher Nolan’s, The Prestige, we see how Hollywood’s three-act structure is presented and how the climax is built up until the near end of the film as discussed in Professor Ramirez-Berg's lecture.

The first act usually includes the first 30 minutes and is the setup of the screenplay. In the story, we are introduced to the two main characters that play magicians in the movie: Robert "The Great Danton" Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale). The two colleagues first start out as friends and assistants to a magician. Unfotunately, disaster strikes during their performance to the underwater escape. Borden ties Julia's (Angier's wife) in a complex knot that keeps her from escaping the water chamber in time, leading to her death. ,During the funeral, Angier confronts Borden, asking which knot he tied. His answer is that he "doesn't know," which Angier can not accept. This is the beginning of their rivalry.

 Act II comprises of the next two quarters of the film (generally from 30-60 minutes long). It is the confrontation. Throughout this part of the film, we see that both magicians' intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle full of obsession, deceit and jealousy. The movie goes back and forth in time showing the different schemes that each protagonist played on the other to ruin their attempts of success. Angier disguises himself as an audience member to sabotage Borden's "Magic Bullet" trick. He intentionally shoots a finger leaving Borden scarred from what he did to his wife. To get back at him he equally ruins Angier's "Disappearing Bird" trick. Soon enough, Borden returns with his most impressive trick: "The Transporting Man". Angier "breaks his head" throughout the rest of the movie to figure out the secret. 

 The third and final act reveal Bordon's trick. Angier finally realizes that the secret of Borden's "Transported Man" was simple. Borden had a twin brother, and they were switching back and forth between the roles of Borden and his assistant. It also reveals Angier's secret to replicate himself in his trick. He owns a machine that replicates a double, and rigs a trapdoor on stage to get rid of him after the show. The last minutes result as the climax, filling all the gaps that were left out throughout the movie.