Director Review: Christopher Nolan

My favourite director of all time: Christopher Nolan. The reason I love him so much is because he has never made a bad film. Although his pictures are few in number, they are all brilliant. Here's a review of his movies in what I believe is an order of best to worst.

1) Memento (2000)
I can not praise this movie highly enough. Although it is not my favourite movie of all time, it is by far the most intelligent, wonderfully put together film I have ever seen (and I've seen a lot of movies). Briefly, the film is about a man named Leonard (played by Guy Pearce) who is trying to solve his wife's murder after loosing his short term memory. This movie appears to be a sort of twist-y thriller, but in reality it is a piece of art. The movie is broken up into two distinct time lines: one running forward, and one running backward, and they are divided in such a way that the viewer is forced to identify with Leonard, see life through his eyes, and think with his mind. The brilliance of the film lies in the fact that the viewer must ultimately select the parts of Leonard's story they want to believe, just as Leonard must choose. No other movie before or after it has involved an audience so intensely: I strongly recommend that you see this movie not once, but as many times as it takes you to really figure it out.



2) Following (1998)
This was Chris Nolan's 1st feature film: it was done on an extremely low budget of about six thousand dollars: it's shot in black and white, and the cast and crew are mainly Nolan's family and friends. In spite of these financial restrictions, Christopher Nolan has managed to create a brilliant modern film noir that is ten times better than any multi-million dollar blockbuster. The film tells the story of a young man who has taken to following complete strangers as a way to combat writers block and to pass the time. Because of this strange hobby, he is drawn into the London underworld. With a noir-like themes and a structure that is evidently the framework for Memento, Following is an amazing contribution to Nolan's collection of amazing films.




3)The Prestige(2006)
This, Chris Nolan's latest picture, echoes the choppy style and alternate time lines of his earlier work. It stars Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as two rival magicians in turn of the century London obsessed not only with out-doing each other, but in destroying each other's lives. Events occur in a downward spiral, with incidents of increasing danger and gravity, until one discovers how to play the ultimate magic trick.



4)Batman Begins(2005)
I found this latest version of Batman really amazing, not just as a good "superhero" movie, but as a valid film with solid construction and excellent direction. Chris Nolan goes back in time to explain how Bruce Wayne(played by Christian Bale) became Batman, and how he overcomes various villains prior to the first "super villain" (The Joker). This really is a great movie, because Nolan really explores the characters and gives depth to what used to be cartoon cutouts.



5)Insomnia(2002)
Although the weakest of all his films, Insomnia is still an amazing movie which tells the story of Will Dormer (played brilliantly by Al Pacino), an L.A. detective sent to Alaska to solve the murder of a young girl. While in pursuit of the killer (Robin Williams), Dormer accidentally shoots and kills his partner. After the incident, the guilt of the murder, along with Alaska's famous "white nights" (days with 24h sunshine) cause Dormer to loose his ability to sleep. In this picture, Nolan explores the theme of guilt and the parallels and similarities between cop and criminal.




And if you still can't get enough:Nolan's first short film, "Doodlebug" is available on youtube. Click here to watch.