You think you know him...

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN is not someone who disappoints both at the box office as well as at a critical level. The worst things about him is that he is in love with his own protagonists and he overuses the same kind of music in his movies. And... Well, there is very little I can add to this. I have not seen his early work but since the turn of the millenium, he has impressed me so much that I am definitely and unabashedly a Nolan fan. So without much ado, here'z me taking y'all on a short walk of Nolan's decade of dominance.

Memento (2000) was an interesting film. More than any of his other films, his investigation of ethics is most direct in this one, where Leonard (Guy Pearce) a man suffering from short-term memory loss is looking for revenge by hunting for his wife's rapist/murderer. Straightforward Steven Segal stuff, right? Not so much. The storytelling takes us through a compelling journey of discovery where we are forced to reckon with pieces of Truth that the protagonist has the luxury of forgetting. Joe Pantoliano has not been in a movie that gives him a canvas wide enough to exhibit his skills. Carrie Anne Moss is just stellar in her complex and underplayed role. Guy Pearce makes it seems so real and intensely normal. Most people say that the best thing about the movie is it's narrative technique, which was borrowed from primarily a French drama called Irreversible (starring Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci). However, I must admit that Memento was much more entertaining and gripping than Gasper Noe's film. The technique of flash forwarding in a reverse narrative comes across as very brave and original. Nolan paints an unflattering image of the Nature of man; but he keeps it real. More than anything, this movie is remembered for the second most memorable memory loss patient (that's ironic) after Dora from Finding Nemo. I must note here that both the Tamil and Hindi versions of the movie (self-procclaimed adaptations) were major forgettable fiascos. Coming back to the film, it blew my mind away when I first watched it and has always given me something new to enjoy every other time I have seen it. Thanks to rewatchability and popular appeal, I give it a generous 7.4 on the popular scale and a decent 6.1 on the critical scale. The year is 2000 and Nolan is just about getting started.


Insomnia (2002) is a movie that goes further into the question of ethics while moving away from it. In the sense, though it questions the nature of man, it looks very specifically at two men at the opposing ends of the spectrum and trains our eye on the quality of the individuals rather than the whole spectrum of human nature. Starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams, this is an extremely intense experience that loses pace in the middle but never loses the audience interest. Williams plays the worst kind of villain there is, a garbage heel, blackmailing coward; and the conviction he plays the role with makes me wonder how come he is better known as a comic despite his variety of great character roles. Al Pacino plays yet again a brilliant rendition of himself. I like the dude but I wonder if he ever stepped out of the Michael Corleone mode. Again a deceptively simple tale of a crime investigation in a part of the world where there is no Night for months on end, turns into a gripping drama beyond the cat-and-mouse variety. Sadly, you cannot watch this movie more than once and even the first viewing will be like streaks of great cinema followed by weak moments. Overall, the movie scores a credible 6.8 popular rating and a 5.8 critical rating.


Batman Begins (2005) was a reboot of the character on screen and people were anticipating how well could someone like Nolan do it. Before we go to the movie itself, we must consider that the Batman series on screen has always suffered more than any other series due to the eccentricity of its makers. Now, I am a HUGE Burton fan, but I must admit that his style of comic-book film-making was so precariously placed that nobody could recreate his magic. Enter Bruckheimer. This was a man who visualized Mr Freeze as a muscle on top of muscle maniac. Now, I am not one of the many comic book fans who cried foul that the story departed from the books; but Arnold Schwarzenegger as a sophisticated, tragic evil scientist/supervillain is an aesthetic and dramatic genocide. Throw in the Halle Berry/Catwoman disaster; Gotham was in serious trouble. Given this background, Nolan had his task cut-out. Also, we must remember that he was replacing the Most Talented Mr Aronfsky who wanted to make DKR with Clint Eastwood as Bruce Wayne. What did Nolan do? Break away from many Bat-movie conventions. The villains were not the superbills (of course, Liam Neeson is a "Big Name" and Cillian Murphy is a "Name" but both were not big enough to outshine Christian Bale), Bruce Wayne was not a Jokester, the (bad) comic-book feel was replaced by a realistic action/thriller style of cutting and the Bat-mobile was finally given the respect it deserves. It was not a toy anymore but a really bad muthafucka in its own right. Most importantly, there was no nipple suit. Also, Nolan chose to base his plot loosely on one of the best Batman writers/story-arc; Frank Miller's Year One. If you notice closely, this movie too follows the question of basic human nature and behavior but it feels a lot more simplified, as it is meant to appeal to children as well. Not much to say about the movie itself; for it was a great relaunch pad for Batman and a chance for him to go back to black. It gets an all-pleasing 6.6 popular and 5.4 critical rating.


The Prestige (2006) is by far the most complete film that Nolan has ever made. It is strong in its narration, characters, action as well as the overall craft. This is not only an extremely entertaining period drama based on rivalries between two great magicians, but also an engaging duel that shows, like other Nolan movies discussed before, as to how far are we willing to go to register that ultimate victory. Starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johanasson and Michael Caine, this movie gets the best performances from each of the actors. The movie creates unforgettable moments that do not impede the storytelling in any way, whether it is Jackman taking a bow under the stage or Bale biting a bullet quite literally. Set in an age where technology still hasn't taken over the art of narration by a magician, the movie quite convincingly makes believers out of us. Like most of his other movies, it also has a single germ that has to be internalized and believed before the movie starts making sense. But the third stage of the Trick is the same in every field of story-telling; it is the Prestige or how the magician overcomes and lives on that is most interesting. For this reason, I rate this as the best Nolan film I have ever seen with excellent rewatchability and great intensity even after the "maze" has been deciphered (something that most puzzle movies fail to do). It scores a whopping 8.1 on popular scale and a sound 6.9 in the critical scale.


Dark Knight (2008) is for many people the best Batman movie there is. With excellent game-psychology and a truly creepy performance from Heath Ledger (and this means a lot for it had to out-creep Jack Nicholson's levels of creepiness) that even killed the actor, the movie sets its scene in the dark alleys of Gotham where the Thinking Man's greatest Enemy, Anarchy, takes the shape of the Joker and challenges Gotham's Knight in Black Kevlar Armor to a duel. We all know how well Nolan performs in Duel movie situations (almost each one of the movies mentioned here is a duel) and he moves the game up a notch. This movie is significant for the optimistic turn that Nolan takes as the climax of the movie has a boatload of criminals refusing to sacrifice a boatload of civilians and vice versa because there is a bond of humanity that goes deeper than just the deeds of the person. A typical tale of Good vs Evil, I felt that despite the story-telling, Nolan went over to the didactic mode a bit too often with this movie; particularly with the entire Two-Face angle. I liked the ending where the honor of the White Knight is restored even when it is at the cost of the Dark Knight's reputation. Over all, this was a very entertaining film that scores a 7.5 on the popular ratings but barely breaches 6.1 on the critical scale for it is only a good bridge movie from Year One Batman to something bigger. It must be noted that with Ledger passing on and people anticipating nothing less than one in a million, the next Batman movie is better not made; for it has a BIG chance of disappointing a LOT of people.


Inception (2010) is a movie that left me doing two things; 1, swearing that Christopher Nolan should rot in hell. 2, waiting at the gate of the cinema hall as the credits rolled on wondering if there was a scene AFTER the credits that finished the last action on screen. Leonardo DiCaprio does not disappoint in yet another psychological thriller. To be frank; I was dreading for the worst from this film for a handful of reasons. The trailer made it look like a cross between any generic action movie and a disaster movie. Besides, I have been waiting for this movie for MONTHS. apart from that, I had not seen this movie for over three weeks after the release. I had excellents and great and amazing from many sides and I was bracing myself hoping not to pick up anything about the movie. I was also fearing the worst for I had insisted that my girlfriend come along for this, knowing fully well that she is not a fan of action movies. The first half hour into the movie, I had a slow/sinking feeling. Not that the start of the movie was bad; but it somehow kept reminding me of a LOT of other movies/TV shows/books from before. I was not really hooked on until the "Mission" started. But from that point on... That is perhaps the longest a movie can make us hold our breath starting from somewhere around the first hour mark to the end of the movie. I would like to take a moment to thank all my friends who had already seen this movie but still did not reveal the plot/or give away spoilers about the movie. I was unaware of the wordmeaning of Inception within the storyline until I went to the theatre and to keep up my end of the deal, I would not spoil that for you, my dear readers, here either. So for that reason, I end this note quickly by just giving my ratings for this movie at 8.0 popular and a 6.9 critical rating. This comes a close second to The Prestige (a decision that may surprise many, including myself), for the Jackman-Bale starrer did not have a single moment of self-doubt whereas this movie, despite its unparalleled second half, the first half made us reminisce to a flurry of movies/TV shows ranging from **Spoiler Alert (if you think this as a spoiler that is), Matrix, Johnny Quest, Supernatural, Eternal Sunshine of A Spotless Mind, Identity, Twelve Monkeys and most damagingly, to Leo's very own Shutter Island. **Spoiler close. However, the movie is an experience not to be missed. Ken Watanabe is one of the most respected performers around the world and the confidence with which he says, "I bought the airlines", sums up his total capacity. This movie is a must watch and is worth buying on DVD for your personal collection, EVEN if you do not like Action genre.