Director Dissection with Seanc and Rauldc

Sean and I have decided to go with Christopher Nolan next:



The guy is often the heat of debate on this site, but Sean and I seem to both enjoy a lot of his work.

With that being said, there is one exception for me:

Following

This was Christopher Nolan's debut film, and words can't describe how bad I thought it was. This is nothing like his other films and he should be lucky that he somehow got to make a second film. Luckily, he did this on an extremely low budget, which probably helped to save his reputation. Prior to seeing this, I wouldn't say I had seen him direct a bad film, but this is. I thought the black and white made it cheesy. I thought the acting and the storyline were well under the line of mediocrity. The one redeeming feature I suppose would be the camerawork, which was actually pretty decent. But supposedly it had to be, as he didn't want to reshoot hardly any of the scenes. Oh well, at least I can say I have seen it.







I'll be brief by asking you Sean whether you feel the same way about Following. Was there any sort of redeeming qualities for you?

And my second question will be whether or not you think he has a chance to be a memorable director years down the road, one with a legacy of say a Spielberg, Hitchcock, Ford, or Bergman (not that they are comparable).

Boooo! Wrong choice I must say, as someone part of the anti-Nolan crew. You guys should have done Ozu.

Already time to admit I am not a Nolan completest. I only lasted a half hour into Following. I just couldn't do it. I had he same problem with Slacker. Maybe it makes me a bit of a snob, but the production value was just too low and the story didn't grab me so I baled.

He will be remembered I have no doubt. What his legacy will be remains to be seen. I think the guy is a great story teller. I see his short comings and I understand why he frustrates some people. What I disagree with is people thinking he is trying to be too cerebral. I think he is the cure for the common blockbuster.

I will come back with some questions in a bit.

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Letterboxd

What was the first Nolan movie that propelled you into watching his other films?

What aspect of Nolan's films appeals to you the most?

What aspect of his films do you think are the weakest?

Would you like to see Nolan involved in another franchise?

What real life event would you like to see him make a film about?

Can you think of an adaptation or re-make you would be interested in seeing him do?

Hoping to answer tonight Sean. This overnight thing is going on.

I'll at least give you questions tonight.

What was the first Nolan movie that propelled you into watching his other films?
It was The Prestige. I remember renting this movie and loving it basically instantly. There was just something about the film that felt so unique to me, and it definitely got its name out there.

What aspect of Nolan's films appeals to you the most?
The Creativity of his sets and the thought that seems to go into his films.

What aspect of his films do you think are the weakest?
Some of his plots can get a little too complicating, that would be the biggest downfall I can think of.

Would you like to see Nolan involved in another franchise?
I think he could have done Superman solidly as a director.

What real life event would you like to see him make a film about?
Maybe a real life trip to space would be interesting.

Can you think of an adaptation or re-make you would be interested in seeing him do?
His take on 2001. Just make it a little more exciting.

Aside from this making me want to never visit the thread again, I'm looking forward again to what you guys have to say

I'll make sure to post my thoughts on Nolan and his films very soon, maybe I'll use this finally get round to Interstellar too.

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What do you think is Nolan's most unique work?

How do you feel about his repeat use of the same actors and actresses?

What is your favorite actor or actress from his films?

How many watches in the theater for you?

What do you think is Nolan's most unique work?

Inception. I love the world building and the visuals are fantastic. The city bending is still great to me.

How do you feel about his repeat use of the same actors and actresses?

I am always fine with that. I am not the biggest Bale fan but he was good as Batman. I really like Hardy.

What is your favorite actor or actress from his films?

I guess I answered this above. I wouldn't mind seeing Pearce in another one of his movies. It should probably be said that I don't think his movies draw out amazing performances but I think he casts well and there are a couple of stand outs.

How many watches in the theater for you?

His last five. Batman Begins through Interstellar.

How did you feel about those theater watches?

I saw The Dark Knight and Inception in the theater and the sound and cinematography blew me away in both. They were fantastic cinema experiences.

I like Nolan.

1. Batman Begins
2. The Dark Knight
3. The Dark Knight Rises
4. Memento
5. Inception

Haven't seen Following, Insomnia, The Prestige, or Interstellar.

I dug his Batman trilogy, but I might be the only person that loves Batman Begins more than the other two.

My favorite three reasons to see Nolan in the theater.



How many times has the semi flip been copied since. One of my favorite action sequences of the past decade.



The whole water planet sequence was absolutely stunning. My favorite part of a movie I liked but didn't love.



This still amazes me. Great visuals in Inception.

I've always been eager to defend Nolan from the usual naysayers around here. For me he was an important director when I began to get in to films, not as important or as influential as someone like Quentin Tarantino or Martin Scorsese, but important nonetheless. And I think my story applies to a lot of people, who I know used to like at least some of his work. I understand people's taste changes over time, you outgrow stuff as you look at it with a different eye, but it always saddens me how cynical some people become, I find it very, very difficult to truly hate a film, even those I don't think are good, and try and look at most things in a positive light. I don't love Nolan's films like I used to, and perhaps if I watched them again and again I would appreciate certain elements less, but I still think that his work has some merit and don't understand why people find it so amusing to hate him and dismiss his work.

I'd rank his films that I've seen, something like:



1. Memento
2. Inception
3. The Dark Night
4. Batman Begins
5. The Dark Knight Rises
6. The Prestige

I think Memento is his best work, and one of the original films I discovered when I started to care more about films. I was fascinated by it when I first saw it, and although the power of its carefully designed structure diminishes slightly on repeat viewings, I still think it's a very solid piece of work, and I enjoy the grittier, more human based story.

Inception and The Dark Knight I both saw at the cinema, and I thought they were really good films. Inception on the big screen was great, and at the time I had never seen anything like it, I felt it was audacious for something so mainstream to include quite a complex plot. I've seen it many times at home, often with other people first viewing it, and once again its puzzle based structure means it has become less powerful with each viewing, but I still find it highly entertaining and interesting. I think some of the scenes and visuals are great, although I now wish that Nolan kind of did a little more with the dream world. In real dreams all sorts of unexplained things happened, and I kind of wish it was a bit more crazy and vivid. The emotional story at the center doesn't do much for me either, I prefer to watch it as a heist film and maybe wish now that there was more focus on that.

The Dark Knight remains one of my favourite superhero films, although again the sub-plots I don't particularly care for, like the ending after the Joker is gone. Batman Begins I've seen a few times and think it's good enough without being spectacular, and The Dark Knight Rises whilst I enjoyed it at the cinema, I see more problems with it every time I watch it, especially the ending and what happens with Bane.

The Prestige is a bit of an oddity in that I didn't really enjoy it at all. I think I could see here some of the complaints people have with Nolan, and I felt that the overall storytelling was weak and at times silly. One thing I ask for films that deal with sci-fi is that they obey some type of consistent structure with rules in place. This film takes so many twists in turns, adding in elements impossible to see as a viewer (such as the real magic) and the ending that I hated. Unlike his other films with twists at the end, I didn't feel this one fit in with the whole of the film and made sense when compared with the overall story arc.

So yeah, what I like about Nolan: His construction of labyrinth type stories that keep me genuinely interested in what's happening. What I don't like so much: How he fails to really build up that many human characters in his film that feel like emotional people, his films are totally devoid of any sex and humour. I just wish he'd brighten up a bit and have some fun.

Good write-up Daniel. I agree with you about his films lacking more of the human elements. I always say his films are a bit cold, so I understand why some criticize him. I think he is a really good story teller though, so it makes up for the lack in that department. His movies are spectacle in the best sense. I will try and do a write-up on each of his movies. Insomnia and Prestige need re-watches though, so we will see if I get to them. They are also my least favorites thus far.

Anyone else want to chime in? Even the haters, I for one would still like to hear your thoughts.

Nolan can be alright, but boy does his constant spoon-feeding get on my nerves. Nolan is like a master of over exposition. I think for instance Interstellar could have been a great film, had it not been for him explaining and over-explaining everything to the audience.

Also I don't like the way he edits his films, sometimes the editing is really haphazard and takes you out of the movie completely. Again, just look at Interstellar. Nolan seems to come up with some interesting ideas, but one gets the feeling that they're half-baked and pretty flawed in their execution.

I guess what frustrates most cinephiles is that so many people believe that he's actually the greatest director working today, if not the greatest director of all time. The magnitude and intensity of Nolan's fanbase is (or at least was, a couple of years ago) absolutely insane, considering the films he has made and their actual quality compared to films of other contemporary directors.

I personally don't really mind it that much, though. I think The Dark Knight and especially Inception for instance are very capable films in their own right and I can't say that I actually hated any of his films (like Daniel, I rarely hate films anyway). I'm just not nearly as enthusiastic about them as many other people.

I like Daniel's post, but I partly disagree with his last couple of criticisms. I think Nolan's characters (or his films in general) aren't necessarily devoid of humor, sex or genuine emotion. That's not the main problem I have with him as a filmmaker or a storyteller.

As a filmmaker (and also kind of as a storyteller), I think one of Nolan's main problems is "rhythm". Some of his films are less problematic than others, but that's the main frustration I feel when watching his work. He often has difficulties finding a balanced way to let his film and story flow smoothly. Individual scenes are often very well made, but his "meanwhiles" or some of his bridging sequences (for instance, in Interstellar) are a little off at times, I think, which gives his films (or at least the sequences I'm talking about) an unpleasant feeling of "messiness". I feel like he doesn't always perfectly estimates the time certain images deserve or the timing of certain important transitions. J.K. Simmons' character in Whiplash would use the terms "rushing" and "dragging".

As a storyteller, the biggest frustration I have -besides the fact that he doesn't seem to care that much about plotholes in plot-driven films- is that, while he undoubtedly has the ambition to import depth and significance into his stories, he always limits the themes he's exploring by spelling everything out too much. Even when he's being ambiguous, he can't help but point out that particular ambiguity in a way that's just a little too unsubtle and obvious. That always lessens the weight of the situation for me and I think that's unfortunate.

So yeah, I think he's a very capable film director, but I would never call him one of my favorites, not even amongst contemporary filmmakers.

EDIT: It seems like BlueLion has exactly the same problems with him as I do.

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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019

I think this is understandable, considering Nolan himself has said he wants people to see his films and just have a good time at the movies. So basically, Nolan knows what he's doing. He is mostly adored by non-cinephiles anyway, which means compared to crap like Thor or The Avengers a Nolan film will probably be the best film a casual moviegoer is going to see all year.

Yeah, I can understand both the frustrated cinephiles and the Nolan-loving casual moviegoers.

Bingo bro. Nolan really spoonfeeds the audience, has terrible editing, banal cinematography, thinly written and underdeveloped characters, contrived "muh dead wife" subplots,etc.

He's a great entertainer, but man do his films not hold up once you think about them. Interstellar was a step forward for him in terms of aesthetics and character development, but he still has to spoonfeed the audience everything.

I don't know that I agree about the exposition argument. I see it in Inception and Interstellar, but I don't know that I do elsewhere. In these movies I consider it part of the world building. It is science fiction so I think setting the rules of the world is important. If I have an issue when films don't set the rules and do whatever they want, I can't turn around and complain when a film tells me too much.

Do you guys think I am being fair in saying the exposition complaint comes mainly from these two films or do you see it in Memento and the Batman films?