A film is a work of art that begins from the second an idea takes birth and lives on forever through its viewers, critics, and fanatics. I think we have all watched a movie that left us feeling a way we have never felt before, feeling as if we had been transported into a realm unknown to us and thrown back into reality as the credits began to roll.
Christopher Nolan is an American-Britsh renowned film director, producer, and writer who is a Michelangelo of his time. Christopher Nolan is known to create cerebral, moving, complex, and beautiful pieces of work, all within the same stretch of breath.
We have taken the responsibility to help you lose yourself in the mind-blowing world of Nolan’s movies during this pandemic. Read on to find out what you need to add to your watchlist right away!
Top 5 Christopher Nolan’s Movies You Should Watch
Memento
A list about Christopher Nolan cannot begin without obsessing over his second film ever – Memento. This movie is a neo-noir psycho-thriller and focuses on a man (Guy Pearce) who suffers from anterograde amnesia and has short-term memory loss every 15 minutes.
The movie follows his search for the people who killed his wife by inventing an interesting game and system that involves tattoos and polaroid pictures. This method helps him keep track of all the lost and crucial information.
The movie is intelligently presented in two varying sequential forms which are intersped. The first series is shown chronologically in black and white, and the second series is a bunch of color instances in reverse order. The second sequential series was introduced to help the viewer understand the protagonist’s point of view.
You need to watch it to feel it.
Batman Begins
It does not matter if you were or were not a superhero fan as a child because this movie will turn you into one once you watch it.
The film follows and narrates the origin story of the protagonist Bruce Wayne, beginning with the death of his parents to the Scarecrow terrorizing Gotham City. Batman is played by Christiam Bale, who absolutely excels at his role with his sultry voice and dominating aura while keeping the viewer completely immersed in the storyline.
This film is a rollercoaster of events that take over Gotham City and essentially uncovers the extremities of human nature in different forms of characters. You can feel fear, hopelessness, rage, pride, victory, and love effortlessly.
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight is a sequel to Batman Begins and focuses on the cat and dog played by the Joker (Heath Ledger) and Batman (Christian Bale), James Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).
The movie is a continuous nail-biter and follows an exciting game between Batman, whose sole aim is to protect Gotham City and eliminate organized crime. Joker, whose sole purpose is to destroy Batman’s rule over the city, and create pure anarchy.
Heath Ledger has been praised endlessly for his iconic and effortless performance as Joker and for the elements he brought into the character. He did not simply act as the Joker; he was the Joker.
Like I’ve said before, you can feel the emotions pouring out through the screen. You can feel Batman’s pain, Joker’s insanity, and Gotham’s turmoil.
The Prestige
The Prestige is a sci-fi psychological thriller that follows a magical and dark journey of Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden’s (Christian Bale) rivalry. The lifelong rivalry is born out of the tragic death of Angier’s wife at the hands of Alfred during a magic trick.
The loss of the love of his life sends Angier into a frenzy where he refuses to believe that Alfred might have made a mistake rather than killed his wife intentionally. This frenzy builds into an ever-growing need to outdo the other person by performing illusions that humankind has never seen before.
The constant game of one-upping the other eventually leads to dead ends that neither can escape or turn away from. This is a clear depiction of the human psyche and the human need always to want what we don’t have to achieve the satisfaction that does not exist endlessly.
The ease and wit with which they sabotage each other’s tricks and performances is completely mind-rattling and leaves you wondering what crazy thing will happen next.
Dunkirk
Dunkirk is an American-British war film that showcases the iconic and tedious Dunkirk evacuation during World War II. The film brilliantly captures the evacuation from three perspectives: sea, air, and land. The movie features none to few dialogues to create a cerebral storyline and narration with the help of simple cinematography and music.
Nolan decided that words are said too much and often lose their meaning but a feeling generated from sound, experience, thought, and visual stimulation.
Dunkirk has been revered as possibly Nolan’s best film in cinematography, musical score, screenplay, and direction. It has been nominated for Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Picture, and Best Director. After reading the word ‘best’ so many times, I’m sure you are a bit curious to know more about what best looks like.
Conclusion
So, there you have it! To say Christopher Nolan has only five good movies would be an utter lie. Still, these movies are somewhere you can start before learning more about the brilliant individual that is Christopher Nolan and the other cerebral and complex pieces of work he has created.
You can expect to see and experience moments that you might have never before with any other director, producer, or writer. This is the perfect opportunity to dive deeper into the bone-chilling genre of Psychological Thrillers and educate yourself about the world of films.
