By: Keaton Marcus

PREFACE:

Christopher Nolan. What’s the first thing one thinks of when hearing this name? Is its non-linear storytelling, mind-benders that deal with time, confusion, exposition, awe-inspiring set pieces? There is a lot to praise and criticize this man for. Panning his lack of developed female characters and generic lead male ones, or falling down for his masterful craft in action sequences. Is he style over substance or just concept over character? It’s difficult to tell being completely honest, and while this likely won’t conclude with a definitive answer, I do want to spotlight this man’s work.

WHY I LOVE HIM:

The best place to start with this section is to write about Christopher Nolan’s greatest strength as a filmmaker, which is to create sufficient spectacle and immerse the viewer into the world of the film, almost always giving them an enjoyable ride at the very least. These films occasionally have serious flaws on the more artistic side of things, but in terms of entertainment value and larger-than-life storytelling, it’s almost guaranteed to succeed on a massive level. The Dark Knight is an epic, fabulously-looking, structured, and compelling comic-book movie. The Dark Knight Rises runs over its plot holes with major enjoyment value. Inception is an exposition-riddled, yet complex, creative and thrilling ride into an insane concept. Interstellar is a grand space opera, filled with mastery on every technical level despite its few shortcomings. Dunkirk doesn’t have to invest in characters, but it’s a transformative experience that was incredible to witness in the cinema. TENET is ridiculously convoluted, self-indulgent, massively entertaining, stirring, and action-packed. For every flaw in one of his movies, there are multiple things worthy of the appraisal to renounce any criticisms.

Another aspect of his films that I can love to an extent is his work that goes into subverting our expectations, and thirdly, his utter versatility looking at his filmography. What do I mean by this? How does Nolan subvert our predictions for each one of his movies? When done correctly, I adore his use of concept over character. Moviegoers can throw slander at him for a lack of substance and generic leads, but that isn’t the point for the majority of his movies. It’s to wow viewers with another inventive and immensely complicated concept, putting enough effort into spectacle and practical set-pieces. Looking at the behind-the-scenes footage for Dunkirk and TENET, one must admit that he puts blood, sweat, and tears into everything he does, no matter how simple. It’s hard not to commend the work that goes into every single large-scale action sequence even if someone despises his work. Look upon the internet a list of Nolan’s movies, and there is a lot more originality in each installment to his career than a lot of filmmakers working today. We go from a trilogy of comic-book films to a space epic. A war drama to two wildly polar opposite science fiction films dealing with the concept of time. Besides his one franchise which only consists of three films, he is extraordinarily versatile and precise in each of his original pieces.

AND WHY I DON’T:

Unfortunately, while there is a lot to adore and praise about this director, the problems are fairly noticeable as well and depending on the viewer, it’s interesting to see how much one cares about it. How much the gravity in one’s opinion changes when looking at the writing, characterizations, and overall substance side of things while viewing. I would say the closest he has gotten (from what I have seen so far) to have both style and substance-focused films is The Dark Knight. To add to the action, there’s excellent acting from its leads, widely solid characters, and magnificent storytelling. However, besides that, therein lies the rub. The first 45 minutes of Inception are useful for setting up the entire world, but it’s also got some truly obnoxious dialogue. It’s impossible to relate or connect to any characters in Dunkirk and TENET. Plot holes plague Interstellar and The Dark Knight Rises. Female characters are, for the most part, extraordinarily vacant in the entirety of his works. To really explore the concept, the sacrifice of a lot of other aspects to make something a masterpiece is evident in his movies. It comes with a heavy heart while writing this, but these are the primary factors that keep Nolan from being one of my favorite directors. The glaring issues are too difficult to ignore despite the fact that I have loved almost all that I have seen from him.

MY RANKING:

The Dark Knight - 95/100
Interstellar - 88/100
Dunkirk - 87/100
TENET - 87/100
Inception - 85/100
The Dark Knight Rises - 83/100
Batman Begins - 70/100
Following - 63/100

ON MY WATCHLIST:

Memento

Insomnia

The Prestige