First of all, I don’t think the movie is ostensibly about reason, though that is a theme. I think, first and foremost, it’s simply about the rival magicians and how far they’re willing to go to upstage each other. It’s actually a very simplistic premise, with very simplistic characters. In fact, if there is any criticism I would make of this movie, it would be that. (Okay, and one other thing that I’ll get to at the end; bear with me.) Then again, there’s nothing wrong with a simple story if it’s told well and is engaging, which this certainly is.

Secondly, as you stated yourself, the twist doesn’t come completely out of nowhere. Tesla didn’t set out to make an actual cloning machine; he was trying to invent a transporter device first and foremost. I’m not sure exactly why, but for some reason this seems slightly more plausible to me than an outright instant cloning machine. Chock it up to years of Star Trek, I suppose. Regardless, there were subtle hints at it, i.e. the pile of hats and the cat, and people actually talk about what Tesla is trying to do. The characters think that the device simply doesn’t work. However, if the viewer is perceptive, they can make the leap that the items being experimented on are being outright cloned rather than simply transported. If you’re willing to make that leap, it’s actually more plausible than it sounds. He was trying to transport objects, and he succeeded, but he accidentally left the original in place at the same time. It’s still clearly in the realm of science fiction, but once we’re already in said realm, the leap isn’t actually that big.

I should also point out the subtle distinction that this is not technically “magic”; it’s clearly technology, and thus still technically fits with the whole “there must be a logical explanation” idea. It’s obviously fictional technology (hence the term sci-fi), but technology nonetheless. If somebody actually invented a teleportation device based on scientific principles and it became common knowledge, a magic act which utilized such a device would not be considered a magic act at all. Hence, Angier needs to keep it secret in order to continue his act, just like any other magician needs to keep the actual machinations behind their illusions a secret.

If there is a legitimate criticism to be levelled at this plot point, it’s not the inherent implausibility of it; that simply requires a standard sci-fi suspension of disbelief, nothing more. Rather, it’s that the film does not make it apparent that it is this type of film until later on, and so the audience is not informed that such a suspension of disbelief is required at the outset. But on the other hand, it does try to point you in this direction without giving away the surprise beforehand. I would argue that making this more obvious would have likely negated the surprise of the twist in the first place.

So really, this film is between a rock and a hard place. In order to properly inform the viewer of expectations they should have, it needs to risk giving away the entire twist in the first place. It’s a very fine balance to walk, and I think it did so fairly well. Ultimately, whether the viewer will accept the twist or not depends on whether they accept sci-fi in general, because that’s ultimately what this movie is. For example, claiming that Star Trek is otherwise a great film, except that having a transporter “makes no sense” would be rightly recognized as a bad argument, because it’s supposed to have technology far beyond our own that seems magical in comparison. Such an argument would not convince any reasonable person that Star Trek is a bad film, but merely that the person in question simply doesn’t like sci-fi. The difference is that Star Trek tells you to your face right away that this is the case. The twist in this film is that this is the exception, rather than the norm in the society being portrayed.

Okay, so I’ve rambled for far too long in actually justifying the twist itself, or rather why I accepted it. So say for the sake of argument that you do accept it. Well then we get to look at the other aspect of it, which is the contribution to the story. The major theme is the continuing escalation of the two magicians trying to outdo each other. It’s really quite like an old cartoon, where the two characters keep pulling bigger and bigger guns on each other. Borden creates his illusion so convincingly because of the secret of his twin brother. However, this requires both him and his twin to make a big personal sacrifice by keeping one of them completely hidden at any given time. It also creates the risk that one of the two may get tired of the act and wish to come out of the closet, so to speak. The point being that both twins were willing to go to great lengths in order to pull off an incredibly convincing trick.

Angier, on the other hand, has no such advantage, not being a twin himself. He tried pulling it off with a stunt double, but that requires paying off said double under the risk that he will blackmail him (which he does try to), and also the personal sacrifice that he is not actually the one left on stage receiving the applause at the end of the act, which hurts him deeply. How can he possibly compete with this? The answer is by taking the next logical step and actually managing to transport himself.

Enter Tesla’s glorious invention! Like so many advances in technology, it also makes more complex and convincing magic tricks possible. Ah, but there’s a catch! It doesn’t just transport; it duplicates as well, leaving the original in the same spot. But we can still make the act work! We just need to (cue dramatic music) get rid of one of them. This is an incredibly risky endeavour, not to mention a huge personal sacrifice on Angier’s part. For purposes of the film, the question of what exactly happens when a person to be duplicated is basically taken to be that you get two identical copies of the person with identical memories, but that they then become unique unto themselves from that point onward. Okay, we can work with that.

Angier has to get up on stage every night with a 50/50 chance that he’ll be the one drowning in the tank below stage instead of the one waiting in the wings. But if you think about what we saw earlier in the film, is this actually correct? Tesla’s experiments appeared to show us that the original object remains exactly where it was on the pad, while the duplicate appears some distance away. This means that the Angier who walks onto that stage is possibly guaranteed to be the one who ends up drowning so the show can go on. The new Angier then has to get back up on stage the following night and sacrifice himself so that another new one can be created. That is serious dedication on his part. Ignoring the implausibility of the execution, put yourself in Angier’s situation. Would you sacrifice yourself to outdo your bitter rival like he does? And keep in mind that drowning is not a good way to go. In fact, it’s probably one of the most terrifying ways to go.

That’s ultimately the point of the story. The obsession of their rivalry drives the two to extreme, and in Angier’s case insane lengths. It’s got sci-fi trappings, but the core is essentially how far would you go for fame and fortune? And on that note, perhaps I should get my own damn blog instead of bloating up yours.