 The Prestige is a 2006 mystery thriller drama film directed by Christopher Nolan , from a screenplay adapted by Nolan and his brother Jonathan from Christopher Priest 's 1995 World Fantasy Award @-@ winning novel of the same name . The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden , rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century . Obsessed with creating the best stage illusion , they engage in competitive one @-@ upmanship with tragic results . 
