The Prestige Page #3

it's actually very obvious.

Well, I mean, you still get...

It's dangerous.

- People still get killed doing that.

- How?

You get some smartass who

could put a penny or a button

or, God forbid, Sarah, somebody

could put a bullet down there.

Don't worry. Don't worry,

because I'm not gonna let

anything happen.

Everything's gonna

be all right because...

...I love you very much.

- Say it again.

- I love you.

- Not today.

- What?

Well, some days it's not true,

and today you don't mean it.

Maybe today you're more

in love with magic than me.

I like being able

to tell the difference.

It makes the days it is true

mean something.

All right.

Metal rings,

ladies and gentlemen.

If there are any

ladies and gentlemen here.

- Solid metal.

- Seen that already.

Who threw that?

This is what you came for, is it?

So...

...who wants to volunteer?

- I do!

- Me!

Me.

Me.

Are you man enough, sir?

Yes.

Which knot did you tie, Borden?

Which knot did you tie, Borden?

I don't know.

He came in to demand

an answer, and I told him the truth.

That I have fought with myself

over that night,

one half of me swearing blind

that I tied a simple slipknot,

the other half convinced

that I tied the Langford double.

I can never know for sure.

How can he not know!

How can he not know?

He must know what he did.

He must.

Sarah, that bloody hurts.

I don't understand

how it can be bleeding again.

It's as bad as the day it happened.

- We have to get a doctor back.

- We can't afford the doctor back.

- You've woken her.

- Great.

I'm sorry, I need this to heal

so I can get back to work.

You've got to face things. What tricks

can you perform with this injury?

I can do car pulls.

I can do some prop tricks.

I can still do that. I can do

the trick I've been telling you about.

The one that they're

gonna remember me for.

Come on.

I never thought I'd find an answer

at the bottom of a pint glass.

Hasn't stopped your looking.

Heard about a booking.

Nice little theater.

- Young, up-and-coming magician.

- Who?

- You.

- Me? Booking? Why?

I want to keep on working.

Who's going to hire the ingnieur

that killed Julia McCullough

in front of a sellout crowd

at the Orpheum?

Someone who knows it wasn't your fault.

Someone who knows Alfred Borden

and his repertoire of exotic knots.

I hear he had a spot of bad luck

catching a bullet south of the river.

That's a dangerous trick, that one.

We'll have to whitewash the windows,

confound the more curious

members of the public, but it will do.

- We should see about an assistant.

- I've made some arrangements.

You settled on a name?

Yes, I have.

The Great Danton.

It's a bit old-fashioned, isn't it?

No, it's sophisticated.

The birdcage can't be

our climax. Everybody knows it.

- Not like this.

- I don't want to kill doves.

Then stay off the stage.

You're a magician, not a wizard.

You got to get your hands dirty, if

you're going to achieve the impossible.

In here, Miss Wenscombe.

No point in meeting Mr. Angier

if you don't fit. On the right.

- What's so hard about this?

- Nothing.

You're going... down here.

- And this will conceal, right?

- Oh, sure.

- Tighten up on there.

- Yep.

OK.

This ties up here?

- Ties in the back.

- Good.

Breathe as little as possible.

Now, you see?

- That's it.

- OK.

She's not experienced,

but she knows how to present herself.

A pretty assistant is the most

effective form of misdirection.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen,

for my final trick,

I will require the assistance

of two volunteers.

Mr. Merrit, if you would oblige me?

Yep.

- Under?

- Under, yeah.

Come around his foot.

- Careful.

- It's all right.

- Your volunteer, put their hand there.

- Yeah?

And another one here.

If you'll place your hands

on either side of the cage, please.

Thank you, Olivia.

You best not be intending

to hurt this animal, Mr. Angier.

- Of course not.

- Ready? Right.

- One...

- Two...

Three.

That's bloody marvelous, Cutter.

Very nice.

And the best part is...

I thought you said I had

to get my hands dirty.

Someday, perhaps you will.

I just had to know that you can.

Very nice. Very nice, indeed.

I haven't had the chance to compliment

you on your beautiful theater.

It'll be a lot more

beautiful when it's full.

Don't worry.

You all say that. Why should I worry?

If your tricks don't get them

in, somebody else's will.

Maybe somebody willing

to do a bullet catch or a water escape?

Cheap thrills, Mr. Merrit.

People hoping for an accident,

likely to see one too.

What would that do for your business?

You got a week, John.

Thank you, Mr. Merrit.

Thank you.

Uh... Sir, in the third row there.

Please stand up

and show us your handkerchief.

This isn't mine.

Perhaps you'd return it to the lady

in the aisle of the second row.

I believe she has yours.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm making

so many mistakes. I'm so nervous.

The audience doesn't seem

to be responding.

They've seen a lot of tricks before,

but not this next one.

Cloth over.

Keep your fingers crossed.

I'll have the champagne ready.

- You've seen this one before?

- We've seen them all before.

I'll make it a little

harder then, shall I?

Two volunteers, please.

A lady and a gentlemen.

To hold this cage with me.

I'll perform this feat in a manner

never before seen by yourselves or any

other audience anywhere in the world.

Madame, place one hand

on the back of the cage,

one hand on the front.

Sir, one hand on the bottom of the cage

one hand on the top.

- I should've spotted him.

- You had a lot of plates going.

- Don't suppose we can do this again.

- No.

- So, what's the climax of our show?

- Show?

- You don't have a show.

- We have a week's engagement.

To perform magic, not butcher birds

and break my customers' fingers.

Clear out, anything here

in the morning gets burned.

- Mr. Merrit...

- It's done, John.

I've hired a comedian.

You know I hate comedians.

Well, there's

plenty of good theaters.

If we can come up with a new trick,

- change the name of the act.

- The name stays.

Right, well, then the new trick's

gonna have to be irresistible then.

I have a couple of methods to try out.

And then we need a new angle

on the presentation.

And if you need some inspiration,

there's a technical exposition

at the Albert Hall this week.

Engineers, scientists, you know?

That sort of thing captures

the public's imagination.

Mind if I join you? Tesla sends

me down here during the storms.

Perfect excuse to come join

the Great Danton for a drink.

Two of them.

Beautiful, isn't it?

God, I miss New York, though.

- Why are you here?

- The lightning lives here.

And not much else.

Our work is secret.

That a cipher?

A rotating transposition

that shifts every day of the diary.

Simple but time-consuming to translate,

even with the five-letter keyword.

Which is?

We magicians have a circle of trust.

You have a circle of trust

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