From the opening of The Prestige it appears that the film is going to be based around a murder.

Both characters in the film play the roles of the protagonist and the antagonist. There is an aristocrat and a commoner who are both magicians, the roles of protagonist and antagonist keep switching. We are made to believe that one character is good and the other is bad, this then swaps over. This helps to keep the audience interested and questioning everything that the characters are doing.

Sound- there is a non-diegetic voice over that runs throughout the opening. This voice over is quite symbolic. It links into the theme of the film really well, but it is clever as at the same time as it is giving an summary of the narrative.  It explains the stages of a magic trick. There is quiet background music that seems quite eerie, it helps to add tension.

The mise-en-scene also helps to add to the theme and create tension. There is a contrast between the man showing a magic trick to the small girl. This is made to appear quite light-hearted. However, at the same time it keeps switching to the big magic trick, this is made to seem much darker and intense. The black hats on the floor of what appears to be a wood at the start seem to suggest some sort of darkness also, which to the audience suggests that something negative has happened previously.

Quick cuts are used to grip the audience and show the panic of when the man is stuck in the tank.