Big Directors and their big movies
Christopher Nolan
Date: October 15, 2010
Author: Srivathsa
Christopher Nolan is a name that is rapidly scattering
across the globe, as the director of the brawly, sophisticated and visually arresting
films. He is habitually associated with films of huge budget. His Midas touch in
the direction area with inquisitive, intellectual, authentic ideas seldom deny offering
audience ideal movies. He often co-writes the screenplay with his brother, Jonathan
Nolan. Nolan’s career commenced with the revelation of his short film “Doodlebug
(1997)” in 1997. This short was filmed in B & W and targets the viewers
with a weird yet intelligent view point.
Stepping into the feature films, his debut was “Following (1998)” which was
more like the follow up to his short film. He cast the same actor for the lead role
and it was also sleekly B and W.The movie was a gritty depiction of a young man,
who follows people to know about them. Nolan’s opened up his trademark non linear
methodical movie making with “Following”, which he followed up in his future films
too. “Following” also features a dexterously drafted plot at the near closing stages
of the movie.
“Memento (2000)””, Nolan’s often imitated movie, is also one the path breaking
films of our time. His non-linearity trend extends to filming it in a reverse fashion.
It is a fast, trendy, violent, stylish revenge drama. It has a luminous tone attached
to it and demands the employment of our acumen. “Memento” also enthused a lot of
movies around the globe. It is evident that Nolan had a keen sense for commercial
films without spoiling the artistic nature of cinema.
“Insomnia (2002)” is a remake of Erik Skjoldbjærg’s French movie with the
same name. It treated the audience with the sheer intensity of delirious performances
by Al Pacino and Robin Williams. It’s a taunting thriller with a bright noir tenor.
Avoiding the gore adeptly, Nolan exposes the tension all the way through the film;
right from the beginning along with the astute cinematography. The movie also marks
a sure prominent place for Nolan among the bright new directors of Hollywood.
“Batman Begins (2005)” was a movie that Nolan was avoiding, since was not
a real big fan of CGI. But the life had an irony in store for him. When he took
the movie up and directed it, Nolan gave a spell binding innovative opening to the
old and nearly lifeless chain of Batman films. It was much more than a super hero
movie. Nolan reached a further distance, making it a dark, innovative, convincing
version of the Batman. It had an entirety in the story and script, which won critical
accolades.
In “The Prestige (2006)”, Nolan’s free flow of directional freedom, engages
the spectators and provides them enough respect with the convincing, yet deceiving
plots. Nolan’s films are characterized by an eye for gorgeous cinematography. The
movie is about a tale of two magicians, who were pals, but become rivals. The script
is peculiarly vivid for a movie that uses techniques and tricks of magic and wizardry.
Set as a period piece, the first of Nolan, “The Prestige” has a dim tinge and well
designed implementation.
“The Dark Knight (2008)” is a superior sequel to “Batman Begins”. The movie
is dark, visually striking, sinisterly attractive, and smart and all that credits
should go to Nolan himself. For a superhero movie, the film does feature only very
minimal action, but all it does is, build that character of Batman and the scrupulous
villainy of “The Joker”. Terrific cinematography supplemented the near faultless
superhero film. It is vintage Nolan, trying not to profoundly rely on the CGI, but
on the superior script. We cannot stop ourselves from watching “The Dark Knight”
as a gimmickry - less, adept classic movie, which it is. It is superlative movie
making by Christopher Nolan.
“Inception (2010)” marks Nolan’s revisit to “Memento” style brain - twisting
narration. With a heist theme of mind-boggling proportions, “Inception” not only
works as one of the greatest science fictions, but also a visually notable action-
adventure film. Illustrative enough of an incredibly intricate, and quite plainly
a brain based theme, “Inception’s” triumph lies in the sneaky and incisive screenplay.
It is a feral drama about the dreams and dreams within dreams, which essentially
brings constantly, a debate amongst its viewers. But, Nolan noticeably leaves it
to the audience at the end.
Remarkably, Christopher Nolan has turn out to be a brand name for making blockbusters,
with a great script (which is curiously, not an easy combination to find) and he
has all the reasons to. We sit here waiting for his next release, which is a Batman
sequel to “The Dark Knight” and the expectations are soaring high. I cannot see
a better person than Nolan himself, to pull it off.
Best: Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Inception
Must Watch: The Dark Knight
Next : The Dark Knight Rises (2012)