THE NOLAN JOURNEY!

Christopher Nolan is a sensation the Hollywood Industry has been blessed with in its recent past. Definitely an avant-garde artiste in his novel approach of directing features. His off-centre technique of knitting a story, frames a unique montage that combine to construct a riveting screenplay. His debut Following (1998) was the major milestone that drove him to pave a remarkable move in his career over the succeeding years. Nolan’s movies are known for the intellectualism they project on screen along with a psychological tension concocted with an unorthodox narration. Most of his films have propelled the characters to explore the depths of man’s consciousness flavoured with innovative episodes in bits and pieces.

His six most noteworthy films are discussed below:

• The Dark Knight (2008) : 

 ‘Batman Begins’ (2005) the first part in the trilogy that ensued, marked a fresh take on the ‘superhero’ genre, blending copious amounts of gritty realism.  ‘The Dark Knight’ marks the pinnacle of the trilogy . ‘The Dark Knight’ has been a complete package of both a thoughtful craftwork garnished with superlative technical polish. It is a film that is philosophically deeper than not only its predecessor, but pretty much any comic book film could sketch in recent time. Batman’s presence on screen was notably fresh. But what masked the rest of the fascinating facets that contributed to the film, was the play of the pivotal villain and of course the most iconic rogue, Late Heath Ledger, ‘The Joker’.  Ledger was only the second actor to win a posthumous Oscar for his portrayal of Joker. . Everything from the stunts to the props were reined in to a tasteful extent, just enough to still keep it a ‘superhero’ flick, while making the ‘hero’ in question someone, who everyone in the audience can relate to. Needless to say, the attempt was a great feat of audience-pleasing extravaganza making it the finest depiction of the caped crusader in recent memory.

Heath Ledger playing the iconic Joker!

 

• The Dark Knight Rises (2008) :

The Dark Knight Rises is undoubtedly a significant box-office success that fastened Nolan’s critical interpretation of the ‘Batman series’ as a vivacious spectacle. However, the bounty of critical surmise and crowd’s response have sharply demonstrated the realistic delivery of the film highlighting their political underpinnings. This film in particular has been portrayed as the most promising section of the series which evoked the audience emotionally more than subjecting them to aesthetic ornamentation. Through the course of the film,  the tangible impact of ‘heroism’ has been strangely stitched in layers that consequently converged and diverged to societal tensions. A mature display and appreciable cinematography have made the film an undoubted boom.

•  MEMENTO (2000) : 

 Christopher Nolan’s Memento is a challenging art-house neo-noir.  Memento is a feature that would definitely stir your psychological fabric. Nolan gained inspiration from ‘Memento Mori’ to paint this feature. His popularity of making dark psychological thrillers that often have non-linear timelines has been emancipated here an another time. He keeps bringing in the recurring theme of explainable bigotry and vengeance for the death of someone beloved in his films, and Memento has been found revolving around this centralised theme. The film’s non aligned anecdote actually matches the character of Leonard Shelby. Multiple fragments of plots blended with close-up of clues have elevated the film’s climax to a higher degree.

• The Prestige (2006) : 
  

 The Prestige weaves the tale of two rival stage magicians engaged in competitive one-upmanship. An amazingly designed plot where an eventual stage illusion has draped the characters in a technological wonder. The film speaks lots beyond the stage rivalry which makes it Nolan’s one of the finest attempts in film-making. Nolan has beautifully sculptured the three acts of a magic trick and explained each with subtle detailing. The first part ‘The Pledge’ deals with simple tricks. The second part, ‘The Turn’ presents common food on a risky platter and the third is ‘The Prestige’, the hardest, the trickiest of all, which will keep you in an obvious awe. The gradual unfolding of the mystery is what you will find the most attractive in the composition.

• Interstellar (2014) : 

 The transcendent vision of Christopher Nolan has taken a wide leap in this film. This flawed and imperfect piece has also been equally gifted  with splendid sketch and beauty. Nolan’s master mind distinctly deserves a whole round of applause. This feature is a mixture of astonishment and thrill that critically nurtured every ground that concerns the viewer’s mind: family, exploration, scientific prospects, ambitions. To be more precise, Interstellar identifies the unbreakable relationships across time and space rooted in hope. Both stylistically and thematically the film is a great execution.

• Inception (2010) : 

Inception is analysed as Nolan’s one of the greatest enigmas which entwine the endless run thoughts reside in a human mind with a gentle development of dreams within dreams. The film decoys the viewers to the route of their own dream states through disorientation. Finally you will find yourself sitting with the bowl of popcorn, amazed, struggling aimlessly to discover whether what you have seen is real. This piece has made the audience intrigued by the deception and also appalled by the deceit and trickery at the same time. Nolan’s fanciful afflux throughout will hit your psyche leaving you in a state of confusion when you’ll realise you got fooled by the characters who have kept manipulating the reality shaping it within a false coat.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :-

Manjima Sarkar is a movie buff and a dance enthusiast besides having an interest in music. The movie-columnist for ExPRESS Magazine is pursuing her graduation in English from Loreto college, Kolkata.