Well when was the last time you saw a film that made you stick to you seats from opening credits to the closing sequence , made you use your grey matter more then you would use in a college textbook or left you with numerous curiosities. Well the first name that will come in any movie buff's mind would be of Christopher Nolan.
Arguably Nolan is a filmmaker who has manged to pull of all the above mentioned accomplishments in his each and every film ranging from Memento toInception,Batman begins to Dark knight rises Nolan has managed to master the art of great and groundbreaking story telling with a pinch of blockbuster film making.
Christopher Nolan former English literature student from University Collage London often noticed the narrative freedom enjoyed by authors over centuries which acted for him as an inspiration to tell his stories in a non conventional ways.
Non-linear narration happens to be major plot device in most of Nolan films most importantly in his debut feature film Memento which achieved cult status and overwhelming critical acclaim.Not only the film received acclaim for its non linear narration but it is also noted for efficiently exploring the psychological topic of self deception.
which brings us to yet another important aspect of Nolan's film making that is
psychological conditions of the protagonist and his inability to differentiate between real and illusion , which he first portrayed in his short film
doodlebug in which the titular doodlebug chased by the protagonist is later revealed to be part of his insanity.
He continued with the psychological thriller genre with his debut feature memento, Prestige and the 2010 blockbuster inception .In his debut feature
Memento lead character of Leonard Shelby chose to ignore realty and deceives himself to believe in what he wants to believe creating fake evidences and memories.Similarly in his 2006 film
Prestige Nolan impressively showcases the one-upmanship in show business the plot of the movie is driven by the insane need of Alfred Borden(Christian Bale) and Robert Angier(Hugh Jackman) to outdo each other,besides being an acclaimed psychological thriller Prestige is yet another example of non linear storytelling, the whole story is told in form of memoirs which brings the different part of the stories together to give a satisfactory conclusion to the audience.Another movie which showcases psychological thriller genre is
Inception, one of the most praised movies of the recent times.Inception is different from Nolan's other psychological thrillers since it is set in a science fiction setting and shows more influence of high concept commercial film making.Despite that what is remarkable is that Nolan managed to pull off a great story at its core a story driven by protagonist Domm Cobbs inability to differentiate between dreams and reality.Inception remains one of the finest combination of great special effects high concept settings and fresh and unique story line resulting in one of the most successful films at box office.
Another important aspect of Christopher Nolan's Film is its
dark tone which is most prominently evident in Christopher Nolan's commercially and critically successful
dark knight trilogy.Apart from batman trilogy dark tone is visible in films like memento, insomnia,prestige and inception where protagonists are either running away from their past or seeking vengeance for their tragedies.
Getting back to batman trilogy, the batman series is arguably one of the most praised film franchisee in recent times.It stands out from other superhero films since it promotes the concept of hero over a superhero.Unlike other popular films of superhero genres character of batman in dark knight series is a believable hero who takes a stand to cleanup his city from crimes. Portrayal of batman as a guardian rather then a superhero is done unlike any other previous batman film.In his recent conclusion of dark knight trilogy in form of
Dark knight rises Nolan managed to expand a superhero film into a much bigger event film comprising genres like war ,disaster and occupy movements
beside having great story lines Nolan has manged to bring out great performances from his actors,who can forget academy award winning legendary portrayal of joker by Heath ledger and other great performances from actors like Christian Bale, Leonardo De Caprio , Aaron Eckhart and of course from seasoned performers like Sir Micheal Caine,Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman.
Often tauted as most influential film makers of contemperory cinema. Christopher Nolan has often drawn comparisons to greats like Stanley Kubrick from his fans and critics.In the face of all this success and glory Nolan has often been attacked by Critics stating that nolan's film lack human emotions and his characters are just plot devices and he lacks versatility in film making showcased by legendary filmmakers like Steven Spielberg and James Cameron.Despite few selected criticisms no one can ignore the fact that chirstopher Nolan has managed to mark a departure from conventional hollywood filmmaking and won the acclaim of critics and box office alike.
stay tuned for next blogs for individual analysis of Christopher Nolan films and other acclaimed directors of present day Hollywood.