Every Christopher Nolan Directorial, Ranked
When it comes to contemporary visual spectacles, Christopher Nolan, the British-American filmmaker with those glimmering blue eyes and an interest in Physics of the highest order, is responsible, more than partly, at twisting the strands of that tightrope and strengthening it for those invested to walk on. A glistening commercial flavour adorns his work with conviction. And the beam of light is so strong that those who enter, more often than not, are compelled to submit.
The fandom is strong (and toxic at times, insensitive in places, purely ignorant in others) but even the non-fandom (which I'd count myself in) is quite puzzling as I look at myself ranking him through his feature expanses as a filmmaker, and even that doesn't match the puzzles thrown by his cinema.
That's enough, atleast for now when we probably have come to the edge of his explorations and experimentations. This is my list of every Nolan feature film ranked, signing in.
11. Insomnia (2002)
Insomnia is a thriller that's coldly drawn from the old, cranky pages of traditional whodunit mysteries. It relishes the kind of old-school which was glorified the best way in Fargo and most recently in Werewolves Within. The visibly entertaining genre gets a rather meditative and mostly well-acted spin with Insomnia, which also hosts one of the better performances from the veteran Al Pacino. Unfortunately, the film succumbs to an awfully slow pace, a distinctive lack of space and contrived, convinient writing which is unable to take risks but also resists the ability wherever the strengths try to show up. A mediocre studio film which didn't, fortunately enough, act as a great hurdle for the success of a future superstar in filmmaking world due to the rather good reviews.
10. The Dark Knight Rises (2011)
The Dark Knight Rises is an almost deranged film in terms of technical brilliance. It unapologetically and almost inappropriately uses its dark shades to convey a tragic hero and an even more tragic set of anti-heroes. The vile element of Bane is tremendously conveyed by Tom Hardy in one of his most memorable acting performances till date, and then there's the electrical energy of a less-than-starry Anne Hathaway in top-notch form as Catwoman. However, the film features a common problem with Nolan's works in an excess that is almost uncomfortable to witness- his superfluous indulgence getting a hard way out of his storytelling. There's hardly a feeling that lands from the beginning to the end of this last straw of a superhero epic and the stakes are fleshed out with an attention to their scale in visual form rather than on a narrative level.
9. Following (1995)
Following is one of the first instances where the Hitchcockian formulae for a thriller was reworked by a filmmaker other than Alfred himself, and surprisingly so, it was from a debutant who was nothing more than twenty-five in years. The inconvenient British quality of The Following is unmatchable in spirit and beautifully designed in terms of monochrome visual syntax. The choice of editors is masterful-- perhaps his best edited-- and the casting is interesting (Lucy Russell's the blonde is one of the most lovely things about this film) Ultimately, it may be the minor Nolan but I'll like it a lot if his ambition is to make something like this, albeit in his own contemporary style and comforting artifice.
8. Tenet (2020)
Tenet was deemed Christopher Nolan's weakest in his line of twisted, complexly executed and technically sound science fiction. I think it's a little too exaggerated but I know where it comes from. By far it's the weakest emotional subplot in a Nolan narrative. It's also too, too long and becomes almost unbearable where the last fight comes. However, the eclectic and electronic pleasures of the film come with a chunk of hugely satisfying and immensely successful set pieces. It's a grandly innovative showreel of the greatest hits package of Nolan the storyteller as well as an incredible snapshot of his geographical positivity- the film features arguably the best use of an Indian setting and a character with Dimple Kapadia's cunning performance stealing the show from big Hollywood mammoths like Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh and Robert Pattinson. Now that's what I'll call a homegrown fantasy.
7. Batman Begins (2005)
Batman Begins is not only the beginning of the famed Dark Knight trilogy. Till this point at 2005, Nolan was a commanding new voice with interesting things to say and important to be heard. The mainstream foray with a Warner Bros picture is the true genesis of a soaring, roaring master whose talent was deeply seated on the altar of psychological and scientific novelty. I think that Batman Begins is the most amusing of the three films in the trilogy when seen as a standalone. This is the only Christian Bale show among the three and it's a fantastic one- there's a curiosity and a flicker of ingenuity that shines through the gloss and artifice of his Cape that somewhat reflects the indetity of his latest creator. Also, this is the darkest film in the assortment, where darkness successfully plunges into stinking filth and fetor. The glistening surface actually is transparent enough to reflect fleshed-out personalities of supposedly colourful comic book characters and it's also the first time that the superhero movie characters were close to a reality that might possibly be lived-in.
6. Interstellar (2014)
Interstellar is widely hailed as the most sentimental film Christopher Nolan ever made. There's an almost arrogant perspective towards dysfunctional familial relationships, and right from the beginning to the very end, it risks on being emotionally hokey. At that, the scientific comments are levelled too highly, which is also why it might even feel like a boring lecture in Physics. In fact, Interstellar is exactly the kind of sappy science lecture that its many critics don't buy into. But the lack of ingenuity in the interspace saga, with spatial dynamics as an added technological plus, is almost immediately believable. The familial values and depth in the relationships like those of Cooper and his daughter are strangely affecting. Matthew McConaughey delivers an astonishing performance and visually stunning imagery marrying very expensive world-building never gets poured down to immersive piece of exploitation. Nolan's biggest film is also his best exposition so far. An unexpected surprise with gifts which are endless at times.
5. Inception (2010)
Inception changed the way I looked at the aesthetics of cinema and even cinematography and production design as an art. Till this point I didn't believe that the aesthetics and technically sound stylisation could be a part and parcel of the narrative. Inception actually dared to challange the perception by not following a narrative that could possibly have any structure. Simplistically fucking our mind but doing so with out and out energy and a silver underlined mystery, Inception is an exceptionally written, beautifully acted and every bit masterful a reimagination of human dreamscapes. There's not just innovation but ample space for complexity of architecture and a specific understanding of humanity. There's an intensely internal performance by Leonardo DiCaprio which seems to be cut from the same cloth as his works with Inarritu and Scorsese and definitely stands out, and then the almost indifferent supporting ensemble that works wonders.
4. Memento (2000)
Memento is a lot more than the Nolan film which got made in 2000 under a low budget. Psychologically speaking, Memento is his most compelling mind-fuck. The film seems to make you root for the mentally challenged protagonist who is cursed with the disease of forgetfulness, it also moves you a lot more than expected and is mind-boggling all the same. However, there's also a part of my mind which wants to believe that the film only gave an impression of the same to depict a pretty simple and substantial film about a man coping with loss. Standing on a devastating Guy Pearce performance and flawlessly cut from the cloth of simplicity worn by a comparatively weaker debut of his (Following, a great thriller at its own), Memento is a priceless thriller that is illusive and at times visually anxious. Which also means that it is significantly unconventional in its appeal.
3. The Prestige (2007)
The Prestige is magic. Magic is the Prestige. And only those who have actually seen the film would get that the statement above is hardly creative and it only stems from the actual tone of the film. This is the kind of Nolan stint that takes something alluring as magic-making and pushes it into a neutral ground. The critiques of the film argue how the film has little except magic and associated visuals essential for a period piece. And why not? the acting and even the science has a familiar theatricality (which especially morphs into the acting and editing choices made here). However, what stands out in the inexplicable and operatic flight of fancy is the observant portrayal of vicious, hateful and competitive masculinity and how an act of idiocy pits it and against each other. And then there's the pleasure of Christian Bale pulling off a nasty stuffed performance. Can't beat!
2. The Dark Knight (2008)
The most fortunate thing mankind was ever bestowed with is the singular fact that The Dark Knight is not a dark knight of the mainstream, punchy superhero cinema. Christopher Nolan reinvented the wheel in a familiar setup and dared in terms of functionality with an epic that truly decodes the rise and rise of a superhero against odds which are extremely, horribly high. The sociopathic nature of The Joker is not a secret but there's an undeniable sense of sympathetic portrayal in the way his terrible antagonistic sensibilities are crafted, which only manage to soar due to the terrific, classical quality of Heath Ledger's masterful swansong. Plunging into gloss of the aesthetics and the actual stink drying underneath in equal measure, TDK is the one ideal superhero masterpiece.
1. Dunkirk (2017)
Dunkirk is a poignant and almost radically comsisten thriller about human's basic struggle to survive the hurdles and a possible death. Playing out on land as well as both above it and beyond the shores, Nolan's unusually powerful snapshot of a dramatic evacuation during World War II understands humanisation of war in art forms like not many films in the world cinema have. It's only fitting that Nolan's more physical, and rather extraterrestrial relationship with time works best when it's left untouched and immersed completely into the past. It's a film that plays within a pause, and an extraordinary achievement in terms of not just conventional scale and ambition but also acute crisis of humanity. This is Nolan at his finest.
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