If I have not mentioned this earlier already, Christopher Nolan happens to be my favorite movie director. I have enjoyed his movies - old and new, for the way they explore the basic human instincts, for the thriller element in them, for the twists and turns in them, for the story-lines [almost all of them by Chris himself] and for the awesome dialogues and quotes; also for the fact that every time you see one of these movies again - you find something new and uncover a new aspect, and every single time you end up enjoying and relishing the movie to it's every bit!!
Alright!! Let me stop with the praises and get on to the theme of this blog. Well, at this point of time, I have watched all the mainstream movies directed by Chris Nolan and have also managed to get enough information on his first film - a college time short-film venture.
And while following this director, I found a pattern, a flow, a connection between various movies Chris Nolan has written and directed. This blog is to take you through this thought-process that I see in these movies.
Let's start with the short film which Nolan made in his college days - Doodlebug.
IMDB reference: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411302/
A young man is seen in his flat trying to hit a bug with his shoe. At the end of it all, this man himself gets squashed; he becomes a doodlebug.
While the film was short, it created a theme, a concept - which we can also see in the next project by Nolan - His first mainstream cinema: Following.
IMDB reference: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154506/
I know, it's not just a coincidence that this blog is labeled "Following" Christopher Nolan - the title is a metaphor which hints at the inseparable nature of Nolan and his films.
Following is a story of a nobody, a young loner who chooses to follow people so that he can understand them and write about them. Yes, he is aspiring to be a writer.
In this pursuit, he meets Cobb, a serial burglar, who likes to not only break in people's houses, but also likes to leave his mark on their private lives, in one way or another.
Despite being his first mainstream movie, Following treats us with many of Nolan's signature features. To start with, it has a non-linear plot. Also, Nolan started using basic human emotions/instincts as the chosen weapon of his Antagonists [Villains] right from this film itself.
And, what is the weapon his antagonist Cobb deploys - Shock!!
"You take it away and you show them what they had!!"
That's the modus operandi of Cobb and yes, that quote also highlights another of Nolan's features - Awesome movie quotes and dialogues!!
So, we already have a young man who chooses to follow others to get material for his writing, rather than using his own imagination and creativity. Cobb takes the young man under his wing and shows him how to know more about people - by breaking in their houses and going through the books they read, the songs they listen, the little things which they keep in their boxes. Imitation is the best form of flattery, they say - and our young man does exactly that. He starts dressing like Cobb, he starts talking and walking like Cobb, he starts breaking in like Cobb and then, at the end of it all, he gets framed for something which Cobb does. It is only at the end that the young man realizes that he is being framed and he is shocked to the core - Cobb takes away all the thinking ability of young man, and shows him what he had!!
Well, that was something about the movie which I had to mention here, but I am not going to spoil the entire plot - so you guys better watch the movie to know what really happens.
I am however going to reveal one more thing though - the connection bit of this movie with Nolan's earlier and later movies.
When you watch the movie you will appreciate the fact that the blonde in the movie is a perfect doodlebug. She sets a trap for the young man and at the end f it all the same trap gives her a fatal blow. Nolan has escalated the doodlebug phenomenon so well in this movie, you can't help but to notice it!!
The next movies which Nolan directed were Insomnia and Memento.
Let us first talk about Insomnia for the connection's sake.
IMDB reference: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0278504/
Insomnia is a movie which Nolan only directed and did not write by himself. However, Say it Destiny or a mere coincidence, it is still very close to the Nolan brand of movies.
While Following had a nobody as protagonist, who follows people for stories, Insomnia has a well-known cop as protagonist, and he has a huge following thanks to his brave track record. Each of his cases is a story in itself.
Following shows how a man gets framed while he is on some pursuit, Insomnia tells us about a man who is carrying a baggage that he framed a person for getting him punished.
This is another treat for those who dig movie quotes - 'Don't lose your way' says the dying cop to sum it all!!
Al Pacino plays one of the best roles in his career in this movie and that is one more BIG reason for watching this movie.
And what is the basic human instinct that comes handy to the bad guy in this movie - Guilt!!
It is guilt that causes Insomnia, it is guilt which leads Al Pacino to gradually lose himself and makes him vulnerable. It is guilt which the villian highlights through one way or other, whenever he has conversation with Al Pacino. It is this guilt which takes away all the sleep from our Protagonist.
So, after Shock we had Guilt. To know what's next, let's change over to the other side.
What if our hero, our protagonist does not have to carry any guilt with him?? what if he does not have any baggage??
But, how is this possible??
Well, it is possible if the hero has a short term memory loss. It is possible, if he cannot remember whatever he did.
And that brings us to our next movie - Memento.
Lets go to the next movie in this discussion - Memento.
IMDB reference: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/
Memento is story of a man, who suffers from a short term memory loss after a violent event in his life. As the movie progresses, we see him tracking down people and of course killing them, as he thinks they were involved in killing of his wife. It is only at the end of this movie, that we know what the tracking and killing is all about. It is only at the end, we know what is the weapon that struck our protagonist. In Memento, our hero falls prey to Addiction!!
As he lives every day of his life killing people and forgetting about it, he gets addicted to it all.
And it is this addiction which destroys all the goodness in him.
So, while the cop in Insomnia destroys himself due to his guilt, in Memento our guy [his name is Guy Pierce in the movie :-) ] has a guilt-free pass to kill and he uses this pass pretty well!!
And the movie quotes?
'We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I am no different!!'
The quotes just keep getting better!!
Insomnia also flows into another of Nolan's ventures - Inception. A project which Nolan was working for a long time, but which got released very recently.
If Insomnia is a condition where humans cannot sleep, then what would happen if they sleep?? They will "Dream".
Dreams - Dreams become the weapon of choice by our Antagonist in the movie Inception.
IMDB reference: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/
I just loved this movie for the whole concept of Inception, for the fabulous acting by Leonardo and all the other crew members, for the open ended climax making us wonder if it was a dream or a reality??
Non linear plot is back in this movie and what do you think of this quote - 'You mind telling your subconscious to take it easy?'
Twisted, isn't it? Well, when the movie ends, you realize the meaning of each twist and turn it took and then you just keep on admiring the imagination which has gone into it.
Moving on, we already know that the chief protagonist of Memento is a man who keeps taking lives everyday and forgets about it soon. We have seen too much of blood shed by now.
Let's flip the side now. So, what can be the exact opposite of a man killing someone everyday??
How about a man getting killed everyday?
And how about him killing himself??
Is that possible?? Does the man possess some kind of Magic??
Well, this and more becomes the plot of Nolan's next movie - Prestige.
IMDB reference: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/
Prestige is about the all-time-fantasy of human beings - Magic. It is also about Prestige.
It is only after I saw this movie when I began to watch each magic trick more closely. Specially to determine the various parts of magic. As Cutter explains, each magic trick has 3 parts to it - the pledge, the turn and most difficult of it all - the prestige!!
This is again a movie with non-linear plot and yet again has some superb quotes - 'You're familiar with the phrase "man's reach exceeds his grasp"? It's a lie: man's grasp exceeds his nerve.'
It gives a new perspective on a magician's life and also mystifies Tesla even more. It shows the extent to which men go to guard their prestige and it also imbibes a lesson - sometimes, simple solutions are the ones which are real. If you think too complex, you may end up expending huge resources for no reason, and these resources can include you as well.
I would say, if you have started to believe in magic after all the Harry Potter movies, you will also understand magic after watching prestige.
Of Course, this was one way to move on from a man who is killing someone daily. Other way can be to create a Hero - so great that he can devote his entire life to reduction and prevention of crime.
But then, we want the hero to have all the resources he needs, all the gadgets he needs, all the money he needs, all the weapons and martial arts training he needs. So, what do we have? We have a Bruce Wayne, we have Batman!!
You guessed the next movie right - it's Batman Begins!!
IMDB reference: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372784/
Like all the Nolan movies, the antagonist in this film deploys his own weapon for mass destruction - and it is not just the chemical toxin that he releases in Gotham's water stream. To quote the words of Ra's Al Ghul himself - 'The word is Panic'.
Again some amazing quotes and a perfect depiction of how Batman begins!!
More about Batman as a superhero in my earlier blog:
http://eastman-colors-of-silver-screen.blogspot.com/2009/04/tell-me-whos-your-favourite-superhero.html
Well, now that we have an established super-hero, what's next??
Let's put him to test. Let's pitch him against a mighty opponent!!
Joker steals the show in The Dark Knight - Nolan's next movie.
IMDB reference: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/
To describe the contest between Batman and Joker in the Dark Knight using one of the movie quotes - 'This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You are truly incorruptible, aren't you? Huh? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.'
And forever is how you will remember this movie and it's quotes. The joker just gets into your heads.
And his favorite weapon for doing this? It's Chaos!!
'Look what I did to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets. Hmmm?' He says. And he spreads chaos in Gotham city even while he insists 'I'm not a monster, I'm just ahead of the curve. '
And, he succeeds to turn Gotham's white knight into a dark knight!!
Well, Batman comes to rescue of even the dead and in-turn transpires in to the Dark Knight. In Gordon's words, 'Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.'
Man!! This is my most favorite movie of all times!! I can keep on watching it over and over again and still feel like watching it yet another time.
And now I am waiting for Nolan's next venture - Because the Dark Knight has to rise now!! and rise he will for sure, in The Dark Knight Rises.
IMDB Reference: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1345836/
It's an enjoyable journey, from Doodlebug to Dark Knight. Hop on the thrilling ride and you will find mesmerizing entertainment and a lot of food for thought. So, What are you waiting for???
