Director Christopher Nolan has inspired two bandwagons: one
consisting of devoted followers and one consisting of those who think he’s an
overrated hack. There are certainly those like me who fall in between, but they
are either drowned out by the screaming of the opposing camps or they simply do
not wish to participate in what has become a tired debate.
If I had to generalize about Nolan’s films, I would say that
he’s one of the better writers and filmmakers working today, but there are
other films that appeal to me more. I have seen six of his films: Memento, the
Dark Knight trilogy, The Prestige, and Inception. I enjoyed all of them on
first viewing but found something troubling on repeat viewings: four of them
didn’t have a whole lot of re-watch value for me.
Why should this be so? Ironically, the ones that do have
re-watch value are the two with “twist” endings: Memento and The Prestige.
Memento in particular remains my favorite Nolan film; it so well crafted that I
don’t really care that I know the “twist.” Nolan enriches the films with subtle
details and character moments that dazzle and astonish more than the
large-scale action in his later blockbusters. There is also a dark humor in
many scenes (I love the scene where Leonard is running, sees another guy
running, then wonders whether he’s the one chasing or being chased) that works
better than some of the limp attempts at humor in later films. The Prestige was
especially exciting on first viewing, as I had no idea what to expect and what
was going to happen. It’s the film where Nolan best captures the mingled senses
of mystery and anticipation. These feelings that Nolan engenders are what make
The Prestige superior to Inception to me; although the latter is structurally
impressive, there is a rote, detached feeling to the goings-on.
Memento and The Prestige also have by far the least amount
of action out of the six Nolan films I’ve seen. I love action films—or I should
say, I love good action films. Raiders of the Lost Ark, Die Hard, the first two
Terminator films, Aliens, The Matrix, The Incredibles, Kick-Ass, and The
Avengers are just a few of my favorites. I even enjoy “guilty” pleasures like
Speed, The Mummy, and the first Pirates of the Caribbean. But I do not think
Nolan is a great, or even good action director. Batman Begins had the curse of
the close-up shaky cam where you can’t tell what’s going on. Even though Nolan
has since rectified this, his action scenes come across as rather plodding and
prosaic. Worst of all, they fail to generate any sense of excitement or
tension. The Tumbler/Batpod/truck chase in The Dark Knight is the only
exception I can think of. From the muddy fight scenes in Batman Begins and the tedious
fistfight with the Joker’s goons in The Dark Knight (the “sonar-vision”
detracting from the scene more than anything) to the infamous, interminable
“Call of Duty” snow level in Inception and the surprisingly flaccid climax in
The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan’s action scenes fail to impress.
I don’t want to be to hard on a director who is clearly
trying to create a more intelligent breed of action blockbuster. I certainly
think he’s infinitely preferable to Michael Bay and his ilk. It’s just a shame
that his action scenes come across so flat; Stephen Sommers stages and shoots
better action scenes (though the stories surrounding them are vastly inferior).
Sadly, many of the character scenes in the Batman films and Inception come
across as lethargic as well. I don’t know whether they are brought down by the
surrounding action or are just weak on their own. Regardless, individual scenes
in a film have to work together in order for the film as a whole to work (duh).
The big ideas and general concepts in Inception and the
Batman films (well, the first two at least) are great, but Nolan doesn’t pull
them off with the finesse that I see in Memento and The Prestige. Tighter
editing and better dialogue would help. I’m thinking specifically of the Rachel
scenes in BOTH of the first two Batman films (recasting didn’t help and
actually might have hurt), the rather on-the-nose nature of Harvey Dent’s
dialogue, some of Selina Kyle’s lines regarding the haves vs. the have-nots,
and the school bus scene in The Dark Knight Rises. As for Inception, many of
Cobb’s scenes with Mal drag when really they should be intriguing, disturbing,
and heartfelt. Instead of being the soul of the film, they feel tacked on.
But these are minor quibbles compared to the cold, clinical
tone of these films. Nolan works hard to create this sense of grittiness and as
a result, most attempts at creating emotion feel forced. Combining grit and
heart is difficult to do well. Even great filmmakers like David Fincher (The
Game) and Steven Spielberg (War of the Worlds) struggle with this, and these
films aren’t among the best in their oeuvre. Perhaps Nolan should be lauded for
trying to do achieve this balance, even if it takes many films until he gets it
right (if ever). But as much as Nolan is praised for his “grit,” it comes
across to me as more detachment than the down-and-dirty darkness that directors
like Fincher and Kubrick excel at portraying in compelling ways. Nolan’s taste
in music also adds to the sense of droning monotony; David Julyan and Hans
Zimmer have done much better work (admittedly not in fifteen years as far as
the latter is concerned, though that’s another topic). The dreariness of both action and general
atmosphere make many of Nolan’s films a chore to get through with subsequent
viewings. And that’s relatively rare of films that I like the first time
around.
I admit to harping on Nolan, but I wouldn’t be writing so
much about him if I thought he was utterly without merit. He seems like a smart
guy, and his concepts and ideas, if not truly innovative, (though what
is—nothing new under the sun indeed) are certainly welcome in big-budget
blockbusters. I find little wrong with The Prestige and especially Memento, but
I do feel he could improve in the areas of action and emotional
involvement—both heart and grit. The good news is that he did take some baby
steps in terms of action from Batman Begins to The Dark Knight, so maybe he
will learn to develop his skills instead of becoming complacent. Although I was
looking forward to Interstellar a little more with Spielberg at the helm,
(still a missed opportunity as far as the score goes—what we could have gotten
with John Williams!) I am still eagerly anticipating it as another step in
Nolan’s growth and evolution as a filmmaker.
