August 25, 2023
This seemed like a good idea at the time. With a lackluster month of new releases, and coming off the incredible box office results of Oppenheimer, I decided to devote this month’s blog to the films of one of my favorite working directors, Christopher Nolan. For those keeping score at home, Oppenheimer is on its way to $300 million in the U.S. and over $700 million worldwide. Barbie just keeps chugging along, heading to $600 million in the U.S. and $1.3 billion worldwide, and will likely be the highest-grossing film of 2023 when it’s all said and done. In total, Barbenheimer has delivered over $2.0 billion in worldwide box office revenue, easily the movie story of the year.
Now, I have written about Nolan’s movies before – it goes to show how much I admire his work in that I have already covered half of his filmography. But, I never settled on a definitive ranking and having wrestled with how to decide my favorite movies from Fincher, Spielberg, and Soderbergh, among others, this one was definitely the hardest.
What makes Nolan so special as a director? Let’s start with his technical abilities. He is a master of the craft. In each of his films, he pushes himself to bring something bigger and better to the screen. He is an expert in combining story, casting, production design, sound, and special effects to craft a rich experience for the audience. He is a fan of IMAX and insists on shooting all of his films in a way that will maximize what appears on screen. He challenges the audience to immerse themselves in his stories, sometimes just to understand them, but more often to appreciate the beauty of cinema.
He is also going to choose practical filmmaking over computer generated images every time. If he has to depict the events of the Dunkirk rescue operation on screen, he is literally going to shoot at Dunkirk. If he wants to depict the openness (and loneliness) of the New Mexico desert inhabited by Robert Oppenheimer, he’s going to film in the New Mexico desert. Need to crash a real plane into an airport for Tenet? Sure. Want to drop a plane from the sky for an insane opening sequence in The Dark Knight Rises? Why not? There are no shortcuts with Nolan.
Now, Nolan is not perfect. His plots can be convoluted (see Inception and Interstellar). He plays with the timelines of his screenplays, which can cause confusion for the audience, like in Memento and The Prestige. His sound design can be overwhelming, like when you try to understand Bane speak from under a heavy mask in The Dark Knight Rises. Or he can do all three in the same movie, as he did in Tenet, a picture that I liked a lot but some people found frustrating to watch. He also has a blind spot in the development of female characters in his films, where they come across as secondary to the male protagonists of his stories.
As I noted at the outset, this was not an easy exercise. I have been a fan of Nolan’s for as long as I can remember, having seen his first major film (2000’s Memento) shortly after it was released. While I have never been a diehard comic-book movie fan, I certainly have a strong admiration for what he did with the Batman trilogy, particularly his choice of Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader. It’s interesting to wonder if the Marvel Cinematic Universe would have been as successful as it was without Nolan’s blockbuster trilogy that started in 2005. It’s also hard to rank the films of someone who hasn’t made a “bad” movie. Even the lowest ranked ones are good or very good. In fact, in finalizing my list, I could argue that any of the films in the top five could be number one. So, we are talking about the slimmest of margins for the best movies from one of my favorite directors. Let’s jump in.
#12 – Following (1998)
At only 70 minutes, it’s probably unfair to include Nolan’s first directing effort in the list with these other films, but Following is actually a very clever story that Nolan wrote himself. It centers on a young man who follows people to help give him ideas for his novel, but he gets involved in criminal activities when one of those people confronts him. Even though it’s not a fancy production, Following is worth checking out, even if to spot Nolan’s love of shifting timelines (partially inspired by his love of Pulp Fiction) and twist endings that he revisits throughout his career.
#11 – The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Not that it’s a bad movie, but I’ve always felt that The Dark Knight Rises is the worst of the three Batman films. It just didn’t live up to its predecessor, The Dark Knight (probably an impossible task), but was still a good resolution to the Christian Bale trilogy. Tom Hardy is fantastic as the villain Bane and I think Anne Hathaway made a very good Catwoman, but the film has too many secondary characters and convoluted side plots that leave you feeling the 2 hour 45 minute runtime.
#10 – Batman Begins (2005)
Eight years after George Clooney killed the Batman franchise (his words, not mine), Nolan was recruited to reboot the story of Bruce Wayne and his evolution into Batman. Christian Bale was outstanding in this role and as origin stories go, this is a very good one. Nolan once again shows that he is the master recruiter of stars as Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, and Liam Neeson round out the cast. With his vision of Gotham City, Nolan put his fingerprints on the dreary and dark world that Batman must protect from the criminals rampaging the city. This film sets the stage for its iconic sequel, coming up soon.
#9 – Insomnia (2002)
A fantastic picture that features three Oscar winners – Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hillary Swank – in the lead roles surrounding the murder of a young girl in Alaska. It was Nolan’s first big test as a studio director working on location with a star-studded cast and he delivered. The brilliance of Insomnia (a remake of a Swedish film) is the construction of the story. Instead of a traditional “whodunnit,” it’s a cat-and-mouse chase between the murderer (Williams in an excellent against-type performance) and the crooked cop (Pacino) losing his mind because he can’t sleep in a town that is in the midst of a continual daylight cycle. Swank plays the straight-laced cop who admires the veteran Pacino’s past work, but slowly begins to realize that it’s usually a disappointment when we meet our heroes. A truly impressive film and it’s crazy to think it’s my ninth favorite Nolan picture.
#8 – Dunkirk (2017)
This is the film I admire much more than I love and that’s probably because Dunkirk is a completely different kind of Nolan movie. I tend to like his mystery or puzzle-box stories and this is a traditional war picture. Dunkirk is the story of the legendary rescue operation of thousands of stranded British soldiers during World War II. The first time I watched Dunkirk, I had a hard time connecting to it. The characters are not that memorable and I found the timeline confusing. Nolan chose to tell the story of the rescue operation through the lens of the land, the sea, and the air. He also spread out the story so that the land section is told over the course of a week, the sea section over the course of a day, and the air section over the course of an hour. As the film unfolds, it’s kind of confusing until you see it all come together at the end. It’s an impressive feat of moviemaking, and one that improves with repeat viewings.
#7 – Tenet (2020)
There is a small island of us who love Tenet, but it’s a passionate one. Where to start? Well, that’s easy. Early on in the film, a scientist is explaining the concept of “inverted entropy” where objects can appear to be moving backwards in time. She tells the Protagonist (that’s literally the character’s name, played by John David Washington) “Don’t try to understand it. Feel it.” Part of me thinks that Nolan filmed this scene at the very end of production in response to feedback from studio advisors that they didn’t understand his convoluted plot. Yes, it’s very confusing, but let me simplify it for you.
Washington and Robert Pattinson team up in a spy-heist film with some heavy science-fiction themes. They are in a battle with a Russian oligarch (Kenneth Branagh having way-too-much fun in this role) to stop him from deploying a weapon that will destroy the world. Do you need to grasp how Branagh is communicating with the future and how/why people are moving backwards through time in certain scenes? Well, it kind of helps, but even I will admit that I don’t fully understand the plot. I just know that the action sequences in Tenet are incredible, Pattinson and Washington have excellent chemistry together, and as a fun (turn off your brain kind of) movie, Tenet is a blast. There’s a reason it was one of my ten favorite films of 2020.
#6 – The Dark Knight (2008)
The gold standard of “comic book” movies. Actually, that description is demeaning to a film that helped convince the Academy Awards to change its Best Picture qualifications, allowing more than five films to be nominated, following outrage over The Dark Knight getting passed over for a nomination. Of course, The Dark Knight famously won for Best Supporting Actor, with Heath Ledger’s iconic performance as The Joker recognized the year after his tragic death.
The Dark Knight was more than just a “comic book” movie – it was an electric depiction of good vs. evil, with iconic action set pieces defining its appeal. So much of the success of these films hinges on the effectiveness of the villain that our hero has to battle. If it is not a memorable character, the movie becomes forgettable. Ledger’s performance as The Joker was transformative, showcasing the evil mastermind of criminal behavior that will become Batman’s biggest foe. It’s clear from the opening sequence when he emerges from a bank heist as the sole survivor (after killing his accomplices) that The Joker will stop at nothing to inflict pain on those around him.
Nolan ups the ante of his filmmaking prowess with the exciting chase through the streets of Gotham (including an insane truck flip), the “Sophie’s Choice” decision Batman faces in choosing to save the district attorney or his true love, and the climactic battle between The Joker and Batman. One last note about The Dark Knight – 15 years later, it’s quite eerie to watch the surveillance system Batman uses to find The Joker. This was only a year after the iPhone was released. Quite prescient to the world we live in today.
#5 – Interstellar (2014)
In making this list, I actually wondered if Interstellar might be my favorite Nolan movie. It’s #5, once again demonstrating how impactful his films have been. Set in a future where the world’s food supply is in jeopardy and farmers have become the most critical members of society, former pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey in one of his best performances) is recruited to help save the world. He is recruited by a NASA team (led by Michael Caine) to lead a mission to find a new planet that will support Earth’s inhabitants. Cooper feels that he has no choice but to accept the job, even though it means being away from his kids, particularly his daughter Murphy, who is crushed to learn he will be gone for so long. Cooper knows that the ultimate responsibility of a parent is to ensure their kids grow up with a better life than he did.
The mission has its challenges and the team faces some devastating decisions, including personal sacrifices. This portion of the film is where Nolan’s talents come to light, as we see the sequences in space and on the foreign planets capture the suspense of what the astronauts are facing. McConaughey is particularly impressive in the sequence where a mishap on one of the planets causes time to advance forward 23 years due to the world’s gravitational pull. He arrives back on the main ship to discover how much of his family’s life he has missed through video messages they have sent. You can feel the pain that he is experiencing and it’s heartbreaking as he realizes he might not make it back home to his children. Now, as impressive as the majority of Interstellar is, the plot mechanics of the ending are a little too convoluted (some might call it gibberish) for me, which is why the film is not higher on my list. But I’m still a sucker for a science-fiction adventure movie with an emotional family theme at its core.
#4 – Oppenheimer (2023)
If I wasn’t such a fan of the puzzle-box nature of the next three films, Nolan’s latest release would probably be number one on my list. It’s hard to argue that it’s not his best film, I just like the next ones more. Cillian Murphy gives an impressive performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, in his sixth collaboration with Nolan. After impressive supporting roles (particularly in my #1 movie coming up), he finally got the chance to take center stage in the leading role, and planted himself at the top of Oscar favorites for Best Actor.
Oppenheimer is centered around the physicist’s direction of the Manhattan Project and building a community in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where dozens of his colleagues and their families resided. The effort took several years and the middle section of the film culminates in the testing of the weapon (dubbed the Trinity Test), followed shortly by its use to force Japan’s surrender. I found this section of the movie to be the most impactful, especially considering the riveting nature of the sequence where they test the bomb. Let’s be honest – there’s no suspense here. We know it works! But Nolan’s depiction of the tension is brilliant, in that we can’t wait to see how it unfolded. His use of special effects, sound (and lack of sound in certain parts) was spectacular.
Now, the latter portion of the three-hour picture has been criticized as slow (including by me in my initial review) where we see how Oppenheimer’s reputation was tarnished, intercut with a Congressional hearing for the cabinet confirmation of the character portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr. (also at the top of Oscar favorites – he is a certain nominee for Best Supporting Actor). I recently saw the film again (I just couldn’t resist the IMAX experience one more time) and I think the latter part works better the second time around. We get a full appreciation for the moral dilemma Oppenheimer faced in seeing a future where a global arms race would threaten our world, sticking to his beliefs in the face of career ruin.
Interesting side note – later that night, I fired up WarGames, the 1983 drama about a high-school student (Matthew Broderick) who inadvertently triggers a computer starting down a pathway to World War III. I can’t remember the last time I watched this one, but it was on HBO constantly when I was growing up. On the one hand, the 1980s cheesiness doesn’t hold up well. But the concept of “computers taking over” felt uncanny in our world of AI threats. And with the obvious nuclear war theme, it made for an interesting double feature choice with Oppenheimer.
Back to our original topic. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the supporting cast around Murphy and Downey. Matt Damon is excellent as the head of the project’s military arm, bringing some much-needed subtle comic relief here and there. Emily Blunt is very impressive as Oppenheimer’s wife and Florence Pugh delivers a strong performance as his mistress. Alas, both roles feel a little underwritten, but maybe that’s because I know of Nolan’s reputation for underdeveloped female characters, and they stick out in a story heavily focused on the men of the mission to build the bomb.
Even with a deep and strong cast led by Murphy, the real star here is Nolan. Not only are you amazed by the direction of the film, the caliber of specialists he assembles (production design, sound design, special effects, editing, musical score) is just so impressive. It feels like each one of his movies have been more impressive than the last, which makes me really curious about what he will do next. It’s hard to top a masterpiece. When you read the phrase “the power of cinema” – this is what it means. Oppenheimer is the best film I’ve seen this year and it will take another masterpiece (from Martin Scorsese, perhaps?) to knock it from that spot.
#3 – Memento (2000)
After mild success with Following, Nolan worked with his brother Jonathan to bring his first full feature to the screen. The two brothers co-wrote the script for Memento, based on Jonathan’s short story about a man who develops a condition where he cannot form short-term memories. Leonard Shelby (portrayed by Guy Pearce in an excellent performance) can remember everything up until the moment he was attacked by an intruder, leading to his wife’s death. Ever since then, he’s been on the hunt for the man who inflicted the head injury that caused his condition, piecing together clues to his identity. What do you do when you can only keep memories for 10 minutes at a time? Write a lot of notes on paper and tattoo clues on your body. Leonard’s journey takes him to a small town where he teams up with his friend Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) and a local bartender (Carrie-Anne Moss). Seems like your standard film noir crime movie, right? Wait, there’s more.
Nolan’s genius storytelling technique for Memento lets us witness Leonard’s journey through two different timelines – one moving forward (in black and white), and one moving backward (in color.). No, the film and dialogue don’t literally run in reverse. Nolan shows us a scene, then the previous scene, with snippets to show how the end of one connects to the beginning of the other. It seems like a gimmick, but the way he chose to break the scenes was perfect, leading us to start a new scene and wonder “How did we get HERE?” It’s a perfect way for us to connect with Leonard’s condition – he can’t remember how he got there either. The two timelines converge at the end, where we come back to the start of the movie. Confused? This depiction should straighten it out for you.
Just kidding. This is a diagram that tries to explain the chronology of the scenes in Memento and is based on this 2001 article by Andy Klein in Salon Magazine. He makes an excellent point that Memento is one of those puzzle-box movies that make you want to immediately rewatch it to see certain scenes in a new light, like The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects. But he notes that those films are explained away by a few sentences at the end of the picture. Memento requires a deeper examination of Leonard’s journey and asks the viewer to reconsider what we really believe. A true masterpiece from Nolan in only his second film – it was clear from the beginning that we had a new talented director to keep an eye on.
#2 – The Prestige (2006)
Are you watching closely? The opening line of The Prestige serves as an entryway into a scene with a young girl witnessing a magic trick conducted by Michael Caine, but also an instruction to the audience. I love mystery puzzle-box stories, and I can’t get enough magic in my movies when it’s done right. So, for a tale of dueling magicians (Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale), I’m an easy target. It’s probably why The Prestige is higher on my list of Nolan favorites compared to other movie fans. One of the reasons I love the film so much is that with all of the twists and turns (sometimes told through a confusing timeline choice that Nolan specializes in), you can pick up new clues each time you watch it. For that reason, it’s on a short list of movies that I will never get tired of watching.
When we open the story, Bale’s character is on trial for murdering Jackman’s character and we are then taken back in time to see their origin story. As apprentice magicians working together, they developed a heated rivalry that contributed to a tragedy, leading to bitter hate for each other. As they each build their own magic show, they become obsessed with creating something bigger and better than their rival. As the plot unfolds, things get even more personal, especially when the romantic interests of both magicians are brought into the dispute. Some people may find the payoff of The Prestige a little weak and obvious, but I found it creative and it still works for me every time. It helps that Jackman and Bale are at the top of their game, and the story (like most of Nolan’s pictures) is meticulous in keeping the viewer guessing until the very end.
#1 – Inception (2010)
A few months ago, in writing about How to Blow Up a Pipeline (one of my favorite films of 2023 and now streaming on Hulu), I noted how it seems that every kind of heist movie has been done to death. But in 2010, we saw a creative spin on the genre from a talented writer and director, where Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Dom Cobb, leading a team of thieves who break into people’s dreams to steal their secrets. Inception is a story that Nolan had been contemplating for years, but couldn’t quite figure out the third act. But, I’m glad he took his time to work through the story, because Inception is the Nolan film that I will always come back to for one reason – it’s so much fun.
Cobb is the best at his craft – in our opening scene we see him breaking into the dream of a target, looking for corporate secrets. We soon learn that he is actually in a dream within a dream, and things unravel very quickly, putting Cobb on the run. When he is offered a chance to clear his past (being wanted for his wife’s murder) by leading a mission to plant an idea into someone’s subconscious (inception, rather than their usual method of extraction), he takes on the task, assembling his team. He’s got the brain (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the brawn (Tom Hardy), the financier (Ken Watanabe) and the newbie (Elliot Page, who serves as the avatar for the audience to understand Nolan’s story – more on that in a minute.) Lingering in Cobb’s dreams is the memory of his dead wife, played by Marion Cotillard, who tends to make things difficult when the team is on their missions.
Cobb’s task is to lead the team deep in the subconscious of the heir to a business empire, played by Cillian Murphy. When they get to the first level of his dreams, they encounter some problems, leading them to go deeper to find their way out. It’s kind of convoluted, which leads to one of the typical complaints of Inception – that Nolan uses exposition as a crutch to tell us what is happening. Sometimes it’s better to “show us” not “tell us”, but many times throughout Inception, someone is explaining to someone else (usually Page’s character) the rules of shared dreams, and why things work a certain way. I can appreciate that complaint, but I can quickly get past it because the sequences and action set-pieces of the film more than make up for that slight.
Inception is the perfect kind of popcorn movie that if you see it is on your cable channel, you will immediately stay for the next big set piece – the opening “dream within a dream” sequence, the scene where the buildings collapse while DiCaprio teaches Page about dream sharing, Arthur battling a villain in a hallway that is spinning (don’t ask), the climax set in the snowy mountains, or many more. Like Tenet, you don’t need to be an expert on the plot mechanics to enjoy the ride, demonstrating once again that when Christopher Nolan is at the helm, you are more than likely looking at a fun night at the movies.
That’s all for this month’s report. I’ll be back next month with more highlights from the movie world. Thanks for reading and if you’d like to be notified of future posts, you can subscribe below.