The movie
Show notes
Are you listening closely? Because this is important: If you haven't seen this film, I urge you to stop reading this (actually I should urge you to stop reading anything I've written in general) and see - nay, experience - it for yourself. COPIOUS SPOILERS AHEAD - you've been warned and we can't be held accountable. Now that's out of the way, it's time to empty a water-escape tankful of praise on Chris Nolan's greatest trick - an endlessly rewatchable, time-jumping, show-stopping, bird-smashing Batman v Wolverine Dawn of Just Awesomeness battle of the duelling diaries with more turns than a seabird documentary and bigger twists than a Twizzler the size of the Burj Khalifa. "The secret impresses no one"? Well call me no one. Discussed in this episode: Which Borden Is That? - a thoroughly researched, comprehensive (and occasionally contested by Rita) breakdown of which Borden brother we're seeing in each scene - Able Al or Foolish Freddie Were the Borden brothers Sarah sharers? Angier's darkly brilliant 100-nights-only Borden trap Magicians getting unfair cred for their assistant's stunts Freddie's impressively spontaneous home invasion that clinches Sarah's affections Fallon's suspiciously quick shots and sparse dialogue, despite the highly convincing makeup and voice Borden and Angier's amazingly effective performance-infiltrating disguises Always carry a handkerchief. Bowie! The brilliance of being told the answer to the trick multiple times and never believing it The brilliance of never fully seeing Borden's trick until the very end, to give us a reason to doubt it The brilliance of Tesla's electricity in HDR Angier's weird trust in Borden or desperate need for delayed gratification by not reading Borden's keyword note until long after he's surrendered his leverage Single nostril tear acting Thomas Edison: the Al Capone of science Hey Tesla - maybe let Angier know in your goodbye letter that you actually weren't able to "fix" the machine, so he doesn't unwittingly
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