Filmmaker Christopher Nolan turns 47 today.
Christopher Nolan has become one of the bankable directors in Hollywood today. That is surprising because firstly, his films are not formulaic summer popcorn flicks, and secondly, he is not active on social media and rarely gives interviews or interacts with fans. He makes highly conceptual films, uses as much practical effects as possible and his stories are heavy with thematic content. He is into playing with viewers’ minds, and each of his film can be called a psychological thriller, which not everybody is able to understand the first time they watch his films. Yet, his popularity is at an all-time high. What explains this phenomenon? Simple. As the saying goes, Nolan lets his work speak for himself. Today he turns 47 and on his birthday, I am going to rank the ten feature films he’s done till now, from bottom to up.
10. The Dark Knight Rises
The 2012 conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises brought the most terrifying villain Bane (Tom Hardy) before a rusty Batman. The film explored what happens when you break Batman, metaphorically and physically. I have put this film at the bottom position but it is Nolan we are talking about. The Dark Knight Rises, with all its flaws was a pretty satisfying conclusion to a great trilogy.
9. Following
Christopher Nolan’s 1998 debut feature, a solely British film, The Following, was made on a shoe-string budget of $6,000. The production values apart, it was a great exploration of a complex character and had dominant themes of time and identity.
8. Insomnia
Insomnia was Nolan’s 2002 remake of 1997 Norwegian film and was the first full-fledged feature. With some great performances by actors like Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank, the film was a gripping noir.
7. Memento
Inspiration for Aamir Khan’s Ghajini (which was a pale, watered down imitation), Memento was a great achievement for the then 30-year-old filmmaker still trying to make his place in the film industry. It was this film that established Christopher Nolan. With Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss in the lead, the film was widely praised for its themes of memory and self-deception.
6. Interstellar
Interstellar was the first time Nolan went into outer space. With his tight hold on the narrative and visual aspects of the film, Nolan was able to create a film that was set in the outer reaches of our solar system and even parallel worlds, but essentially it was centred on the relationship between a father and his daughter.
5. The Prestige
With actors like Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman playing rival magicians in the film, The Prestige was a thrill ride. Nolan’s obsession with the twists at the end of his movies may have begun with this film.
4. Batman Begins
The film which began probably the greatest superhero trilogy, Batman Begins was centred upon the theme of fear. With Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne struggling to overcome his childhood fear of bats to Cilian Murphy’s Scarecrow using drugs to invoke the deepest fears of when he considered people who were not keen on his plans, Batman Begins was all about recognising your inner demons and then overcoming it. It also marked the grand reentry of the Caped Crusader whose previous big screen appearances had been disastrous.
3. Inception
Inception was a film that was mind-bogglingly complex with its time-jumps, unreliable protagonist and, well, dreams. Not just dreams, sharing of dreams. The idea of stealing other people’s ideas from their minds and also planting foreign ideas into their minds and translating it to cinema was a great feat. The high concept ideas were well-complemented by Hanz Zimmer’s beautiful score.
2. Dunkirk
Most recent Christopher Nolan films, Dunkirk has wowed the world. This is the first war film made by Nolan and he has shied away from usual war movie tropes like excessive violence, non-stop machine-gun fire, and character depths. Instead he has chose the Dunkirk evacuation itself as his main protagonist, and characters are simply minor players making a big whole. The film also has some of the best cinematography in any movie in a while. Dunkirk is easily one of the best Christopher Nolan films.
1. The Dark Knight
The uncrowned queen of all superhero movies, The Dark Knight was released in 2008 and is yet to be bettered. What was unique about it was that, although it was a superhero movie, it did not have large scale battles. Its antagonist was a great mind (no matter how sick and twisted), and not a great fighter. The Joker played by late actor Heath Ledger was, as he himself put it, an agent of chaos. Pure and simple. The Joker was a man impossible to understand. He wanted Batman to kill him? Why? Because he wanted Batman to break his rule: that he will not kill anybody. “Madness, as you know, is like gravity, all it takes is a little push.”
The film is known for its iconic scenes like interrogation of The Joker by the Batman, The Joker’s entry in a meeting of Gotham’s mobsters, and is probably the best Christopher Nolan film yet, and just because of Ledger’s storming performance.
