Please explain the Prestige with spoilers

[Laurielee]

After reading the threads about this movie when it first came out I thought this is one of those movies I dont want to see since I can never figure out movies and get lost.

I got that HJ killed his double to frame CB right? Now CBs double which was made by that machine, was he the one in prison? And then was he the one being obnoxious after the show at the dinner table when he was still in costume? And if so why CB would be letting his double act this way. I am thinking it was CBs double that was having an affair with the assitant?

Oh and someone mentioned on another thread about twists with the professor. What does that mean?

TIA

Laurie

[Kristilyn1]

They were twins. They lived half of the same life. One twin loved the wife and the other loved the assistant. They both loved the little girl and that is why he promised he would come back for her. Did you get that part? I don't want to be condescending if you already got that part.

Kristi

[Laurielee]

I remember when he said he would come get her, but it was such a confusing movie to me. So why would he let his twin be mean to his wife she commited suicide over it. I am missing something with this. or like you say his other half so does he not know what that other half is doing?

[Kristilyn1]

Well, it's not like the twin was MEAN to her, he just didn't love her and both of them, imo, were frustrated with the half life they had to live. Remember the wife would always say "oh, today you do love me" and other days "today you don't". She knew something was amiss but had no idea what. Remember he told his wife's niece when they met that once you tell them your secret "you mean nothing to them". I think he feared telling her the secret. I highly recommend watching it twice. I enjoyed it more the second time around because it made a lot more sense.

Kristi

[AvrilH]

Hugh Jackman created a double killed himself every single night, waiting for Christian Bale to show up and be able to take the fall. It was an incredibly terrifying thing to do.

The "double" Hugh created was always an exact double who had the exact memory and experiences of the original Hugh - so he never knew if it was the double who was getting killed or the original Hugh, and then that Hugh would only live for 24 hours until the next night.

Kristi's right - Christian had a twin that was kept very very secret. They were never doubles. Christian's wife killed herself not only bc she could tell that the twin didn't love her, but bc she saw that he had fallen in love with Scarlett Johansson, the assistant.

What irritates me about that plotline is this: WHY did the twin ever go to the wife to pretend he was her husband? Why did they try to fake it for her? OR, why on earth would CB not trust his own wife with the truth? That was a bit much.

One plot point I've wondered about: Which CB was executed? The family man, and therefore the girl's actual father? Or the twin? (Either way, the girl perceived her father to be alive, and I imagine the uncle probably loved her like a father). But I am curious if the movie explained it and I missed it, or if it was left dangling.