The Prestige is a film from 2006 directed by Christopher Nolan taking place in 1900s England about two rival magicians who spend their lives in pursuit of outdoing the other’s latest illusion.  The main trick that they competed over was the illusion of vanishing and reappearing.  The two magicians of this rivalry are Robert Angier (played by Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden ( played by Christian Bale).  One night, Borden showcases a new trick with two doors on either side of his stage.  Right before he walks into one door, he tosses a rubber ball toward the other door, where he reappears and catches the ball.  After seeing this trick, Angier visits Nikola Tesla in America(played by David Bowie) and asks him to build him a machine to clone himself in hopes of copying and beating Borden.  During their conversation, Angier asks Tesla ,”Well hasn’t good come form your obsession?”  Tesla responds, “Well at first…but I followed them for long.  I am their slave and one day they will choose to destroy me.”

The theme in Tesla’s conversation with Angier alludes to the theme of Frankenstein’s conversation with  Robert Walton. Frankenstein warns Walton of his venture,”Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge” (53).  Frankenstein recognizes Walton’s passion for knowledge and hopes to save him from his own downfall by sharing his own story.  Likewise, Tesla tells Angier,”Go home, forget this thing.  I can recognize an obsession, no good will come of it.” Both Tesla and Frankenstein use their experiences to warn their predecessors of what may come for them if they choose to continue their ways.

The lesson to be taken away in the The Prestige that also translates to Frankenstein is that life is sustained through birth and not through creation.  To perform his trick with the aide of his new machine, Angier would  create a copy of himself and then drown his original self in a water tank through a trap door underneath the stage. However, Borden’s method was much simpler.  He had a twin that would play the part of his clone.  Bordern’s method was sustainable, while Angier’s method came at the cost of a trip to see Tesla in America and constantly having to drown his original self after creating a clone. Borden’s method was natural and pure, while Angier’s method was unnatural and ultimately self-destructive.  In Frankenstein, Frankenstein uses  various body parts to create an unnatural lifeform which ultimately leads to the death of his family members and his own demise.  Rather than focus on building his relationship with his family and protecting them, Frankenstein becomes sidetracked with his pursuit of “the secret of life.”  Angier, with his constant pursuit of amazing his audience, ends up sacrificing his own mental well-being by dedicating his life to beating Borden.  Both Frankenstein and Angier had personal agendas that was beyond what was natural and within their grasp.  Their stubborn actions made the product of their passions take a hold of them instead.