Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer will be releasing in theatres on June 21, and the massive hype around the film is only matched by fans eagerly waiting for Barbie. Nolan has over the years built up a reputation as a ‘cerebral’ director, though he does have a fair share of detractors (Did anyone really understand Tenet?). His successful reboot of Batman on the silver screen won him a dedicated fan base among superhero comic book enthusiasts.
Nolan is also known for bringing back the same set of actors, disliking VFX and writing non-linear plots that sometimes leave viewers quite puzzled.
While the British-American director’s politics in his films raises some pressing questions, it is hard to deny his ability to tell an engaging story and deliver characters that stay with us for years after the film’s release.
Here’s 6 films we think you should re-visit if you’re a Nolan fan.
Before this film, the last time the Caped Crusader, as the superhero is also called, was seen on screen was in Batman & Robin (1997) – an over-the-top, nonsensical take starring George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell. Nolan’s version returned to the grim roots of the comic book hero with an origin story featuring a villain never seen before in live-action screen adaptations. Liam Neeson as Ra's al Ghul was a chilling version of an antagonist who in the comics has near-mythical abilities. Nolan’s choice to veer away from fantastical powers and making the film’s events as grounded in our own reality as much as possible, worked to tell a compelling tale of a traumatised man obsessed with revenge, going on to be a hero to his city.
Where to stream:Amazon Prime
The second part of Nolan’s Batman trilogy was marked by tragedy with Heath Ledger, who played The Joker, passing away even before the film hit theatres. Ledger brought a terrifying new edge to The Clown Prince of Crime, winning him a posthumous Academy Award. His character’s predilection for chaos and the festering hurts buried deep within him echoed several elements of the beloved graphic novel The Killing Joke by Alan Moore. While the replacement of Katie Holmes by Maggie Gyllenhaal as Bruce Wayne’s love interest, Rachel, was a little disorienting, The Dark Knight left the titular hero questioning the human cost of his brand of justice.
Where to stream:Amazon Prime
This one divided fans and critics alike. Tom Hardy as the main antagonist, Bane, had many scratching their heads trying to make out what the actor was saying underneath the heavy mask his character wears. Others were left reeling by his powerful performance and an ideology backing his fight that was far more relatable than that of an ageing billionaire. Nolan drew heavily from graphic novels such as Knightfall and Frank Miller’s legendary comic mini-series The Dark Knight Returns, even re-creating key scenes from these books. Hardy’s casting also raised questions about Hollywood’s practice of white-washing roles originally belonging to POC (People of Colour) characters. Bane in the comics is of Latina heritage, but was played by a white actor.
Where to stream:Amazon Prime
While many did not know initially, A R Murugadoss’s Gajini was “inspired” from Memento. Nolan’s disturbing original heralded him as a director with an ability to plunge the darkest parts of our psyche. Guy Pierce stuns in a complex role interweaving mental health, trauma, a loss of identity and a burning quest for revenge. Though these elements are common to many movies, the director’s non-linear storytelling served to intrigue audiences. Perhaps the fact that people are still trying to decode the film’s ending is a testament to Memento’s lasting impact.
Some director’s may have baulked at casting Christian Bale and Michael Cain, Bruce Wayne and Alfred in the Batman trilogy, in another film while in the middle of making the said trilogy. Nolan instead delivered an equal parts horrifying and gripping story of two competing magicians (Bale and Hugh Jackman). Revenge and ambition gone sour seem to be repeating elements for the director, but The Prestige is a fine example of how to play these elements rightly.
Where to stream:Amazon Prime
A film that blows you away so far with its breathtaking cinematography and superb acting, particularly by Tom Hardy (again under a mask), that you’re almost oblivious to the nationalistic fervour with which the history of the Dunkirk evacuation during World War 2 is told. The film is worth watching purely for the actors’ performances and the way the story is told from three landscapes: that of the stranded Allied soldiers on the beaches of Dunkirk, the dog-fights in the skies above them between the Allies and the Axis fighter planes, and the events unfolding at sea. The film’s release in the wake of Brexit was seen by many as a noxious take on British pride and exceptionalism. The ringing endorsement from right-wing politician and former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Nigel Farage, certainly further entrenched that criticism.
Also, the film, except in one or two background shots, completely erases the presence, historically, of colonised South Asian and East African soldiers. Dunkirk in that sense creates the deliberate (false) image of a mostly white ‘plucky little island nation’ trapped in the ravages of war.
Where to stream:Amazon Prime