Christopher Nolan is known for his unique directorial style as he often explores and plays with concepts of time, memory, reality and identity. He is known for big budget, big action films that are widely considered by critics and audiences as some of the best films of the 21st century. Nolan very rarely follows conventional narrative structures and likes to provide the viewer with clues within his films so they can try and piece together the story themselves. Nolan’s films have attained a total of 34 Academy Award nominations and 10 wins.
Read below for a look at some of Nolan’s most popular films across the past two decades.
MEMENTO (2000)
Memento follows Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce); an ex-insurance investigator who has short-term memory loss that resulted from an injury he suffered while two men attacked his wife in their home. He can recall killing of the attackers but after a blow Leonard sustains to the head, the other manages to escape. Leonard now devotes his life to piecing back his memory so he can avenge his wife’s killer.
The film cuts between black-and-white and colour sequences. The black-and-white sequences are shown in chronological order, while ones in colour are shown in reverse chronological. These sequences are used to simulate the mental state of the protagonist for the viewer and to help you empathise with him as you follow his story alongside him. These two sides alternate until they meet in the middle of the story but the end of the film.
THE PRESTIGE (2006)
Set in 1890’s London, magicians Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman) who were once friends become bitter enemies after an illusion gone wrong results in a tragic accident. The two men begin to battle against each other to outwit the other and be the better magician. This rivalry soon turns into a dark obsession full of deceit and jealously and ultimately jeopardizing the lives of everyone around them.
The Prestige, although not included in Nolan’s films that investigate elements of time and reality, is still a dark and mysterious thriller that is pivotal to Nolan’s style.
INCEPTION (2010)
Dominic Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is professional thief in the art of extraction; retrieving valuable secrets from deep within a person’s subconscious during the dream state. Cobb is offered a chance to have his criminal records erased in return for implanting a different person’s idea into someone else, a process called “Inception”. Cobb assembles a team to help him pull off this seemingly impossible task, but no amount of planning can prepare them for what is to come.
This epic psychological sci-fi is widely viewed as Nolan’s most popular film and was nominated for several Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Cinematography.
INTERSTELLAR (2014)
The future of Earth’s survival is in the hands of a team of explorers who must find the human race a new home after all a series of vicious sandstorms destroyed all of Earth’s crops. Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), an ex-science engineer and pilot is asked to assist this team in travelling through a wormhole in search for new life. He must decide to either stay, or risk never seeing his children again in order to save mankind.
Interstellar is one of Nolan’s most thought provoking, and visually stunning film. The film explores not just themes of space and time, but it also has emotional range through the relationship Cooper has with his daughter.
DUNKIRK (2017)
Dunkirk, Nolan’s first war film, follows three stories taking place simultaneously – by land, sea and air. These three perspectives portray the evacuation of thousands of British and French soldiers who were stranded on Dunkirk beach during World War II. These troops, trapped by the Germans, had to find ways to help each other survive and escape. The film has little dialogue but is inundated with grand cinematography and music.
The way the plot follows three different perspectives may be confusing to some but Nolan fans have come to expect this from his films after seeing his previous work such as Inception.
TENET (2020)
To prevent the start of World War III, a secret agent (John David Washington) must embark on a time-bending mission to stop menacing Russian oligarch Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh) from destroying mankind, not by time travel but time inversion.
Considered Nolan’s most oblique film yet, Tenet is quintessential to his style of filmmaking. It’s ambitious, and loud and visually grand and always keeps the viewer on their toes as they try to piece together the story before the end of the film.
TENET is available now on 4K UHD, Blu-Ray™, DVD and Digital Download
