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Christopher Nolan - HOW DOES HE DO THAT ???

“Probably done this before” - Christopher Nolan - HOW DOES HE DO THAT ???

EVERY TIME ???

Every time he conjures up a brilliant,twisted,convoluted,serpentine script which doesn’t indulge itself, entertains, doesn’t take the EASY way out … doesn’t give u a deja-vu feel .. doesn’t give u a “i could see that coming” feeling…is novel everytime …dark .. MAD MAD screenwriting ..MAD MAD direction .. and absolute mad sense of editing.

FOLLOWING
How did he make this film spanned over a year ?
Was it really an “indi” film ? Doesn’t look like it…
Hopeless people put in awkward sometimes sympathetic situations…. often reaching a tragic conclusion …
Was really the budget of the film 5000 pounds ??
The use of VO .. documentary feel … eventually blending into fiction …. HOW the hell does he come up with that ?
Repeated close ups of hand movements … small objects …
How does he “hide” the truth .. not letting us know the complete facts ..and eventually revealing to us the entirety ..and carrying it off too !!!
WHY CAN’T WE SEE IT COMING ????

MEMENTO
HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW ?????

JUST HOW IS IT HUMANLY POSSIBLE ??? HOW ????
How do we give sympathy to the lead ..and eventually feel tricked ….
Why does the character feel like a guy lost in thw wilderness of the bad bad world … eventually making us (the audience) realise he is just as bad ….

How is it possible to see every minute of the film before it has been shot and edited ? How much of a genuis is needed to ensure that every scene is intriguing … and fits into the non linear constructed screenplay ? How much of little information is provided which makes think on a tangent altogether … How much of subtelty is enough ? How much of extraposition is sufficient ? How much he makes us work … and hell we want to work ..because he MAKES US WANT TO WORK IT OUT !!!

First time i started seeing this film .. I remember my reaction went from “what-is-this” ..to “hey-this-intresting” ..to “Oh-WOW-didn’t-see-that-one-coming”…. to “WOW !!!” to “Holy-Shit-this-is-CRAZY”
How would he have narrated the script to the producer ? The cast ? The DOP ? The Editor ?

INSOMNIA
How is Al Pacino soooooo brilliant in the film ?
Again revisiting the theme of guilt …. how different is the character of Al Pacino from Robin Williams ? For all you know Robin was innocent and Kate’s death was an acciddent too …. like that of Al Pacino’s partner.
Do the ends really justify the means ? If yes, then why doesn’t everyone (the FBI/CIA/government) agree to that perspective ?
Why does hillary swank look so cute ? (sorry for this one :) )
Who says you need blood and serial killers to make a cops-investigating-a-murder thrilling ?
The film focusses more on the psycologocial aspects of the murder …. And Boy oh Boy … i love it
The scene when Al Pacino comes to Larry’s house ..and the cops reach there …. followed by Al Pacino hiding and eventully coming out (quite literally) of the closet …. Why THE HELL DIDN’T GUESS IT ?? WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THIS SORT OF WAY FOR AL TO ESCAPE THE IMMINENT EMBARASSMENT ???

Here’s an Interview of al pacino with Christopher Nolan
part 1

part 2

PRESTIGE
PUZZLING ..INTRUIGING … MAGICAL … TWISTED ..DARK …
How much of magic he himself must have studied to make this film ?
Why are there NO heroes in the film ? And still it works brilliantly. Why can’t some of the studios take a leaf from this film and actually start believing that films neednt essentially be about positive characters ..that every one in the film can be black …. (and NO i don’t mean “shades-of-grey” as the stupid bollywood stars keep saying about their roles .. but genuine dark…twisted characters full of themselves)
How can such a convoluted puzzle film fit till the very last frame of the film ? Why don’t i feel the need to go for a smoke in the middle ?
How can anyone possibly construct the film in such a disjointed manner … and still it appears as if there’s a purpose to it …. and its not done just for kicks ….
Again ..there’s no one who is “right” .. nor is everyone “wrong” ….
Again .. the oft repeated question…How would he have narrated the script to the producer ? The cast ?

WHY DOES EVERY CHRISTOPHER NOLAN FILM MAKE YOU WANT TO WATCH THE FILM AGAIN ??? AND NOT BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T GET IT … BUT BECAUSE IT INTRIGUES YOU ENOUGH TO AROUSE THE INTREST ..AND MAKES YOU WANT TO FIND OUT IF NOLAN LEFT ANY CLUES FOR THOSE WHO ARE WATCHING THE FILM FOR THE 3RD OR THE 4TH TIME !!!

Now eagerly going to watch Batman Begins … Anyone with the dvd of the film ?
And of course the dark knight ….Here’s a trailer ….

P.S - Following, Insomnia,memento are available online on google video in case you are not able to arrange for a dvd of the same.

20 Responses to “Christopher Nolan - HOW DOES HE DO THAT ???”

  1. DPac on May 13th, 2008 5:55 am

    kk, alpacino sleep walks thru ‘insomnia’ (pun unintended)
    prestige is at best a wannabe movie.

    and u missed a better worthier movie than these 2 in Batman returns

  2. kartik krishnan on May 13th, 2008 5:57 am

    agree completly with you dpac

  3. Medium on May 13th, 2008 6:17 am

    Me got BATMAN BEGINS !!!

  4. kartik krishnan on May 13th, 2008 6:19 am

    me got beer for u medium … very soon :)

  5. Kenny on May 13th, 2008 8:17 am

    Chris Nolan’s one of my favourites too. Watching Memento & The Prestige gave me the joy of solving a cryptic crossword (not that I’ve ever finished one entirely). Insomnia had great atmosphere. I must watch Following whenever I get my hands on it.
    W.r.t. DPac’s comment, I feel that some aspects of the twisted narration of The Prestige were dispensable (I watched it twice on consecutive days).
    But I don’t agree about Batman Returns. It’s a good movie, no doubt, but Batman Begins is the only Batman film that captures the true noirish atmosphere of the comics. Frank Miller’s and Jim Lee’s works are great examples. Batman and Batman Returns had the Spiderman tone, which is wonderful for Spiderman, but most diehard Batman readers would agree that only Nolan’s got it right. Batman & Robin was like a lousy human cartoon.

  6. Mitch on May 13th, 2008 9:04 am

    He drank Horlicks as a kid that’s why he’s so brilliant. And for my money Prestige is his best film yet and one of the most awesome scripts ever.

    If somebody is so inclined first read the book, then the script and finally watch the film to get an idea of his genius.

    Insomnia is his weakest effort with a lot of unnecessary masala added. The original film starring Stellan Skaarsgard is much better and def more atmospheric.

  7. siddharth on May 13th, 2008 9:24 am

    Lol Mitch..

  8. Vikrant on May 13th, 2008 10:05 am

    Why does Nolan appear disinterested for the most part of his conversation with Pacino? Or is it just me?
    I think Prestige is his best then Batman Begins. He is only getting better with every film and I can’t wait for the Dark Knight.
    Too bad I’m a complan boy. Now I know why I can’t think like him…thanks Mitch…

  9. Neeraja on May 13th, 2008 11:39 am

    Just finished ‘Following’ :)
    seriously! how does he do that again and again and again?!!!

  10. Mitch on May 13th, 2008 12:00 pm

    Horlicks.

  11. gony dhoni on May 13th, 2008 12:30 pm

    Watched memento 2 times, watched it back to back, to simply relish it once more.
    Watched prestige in theater, then watched it almost every other day in parts(thanks HBO & Showtime). My wife seriously thought i have gone bonkers.
    Watched Batman in theater, followed it up by buying dvd and watched it more times than i recall.
    Insomnia to me wasnt that great.
    Waiting for Dark Knight……..saw the clips looked amazing.
    Thank god the word is out “Its Horlicks”

  12. Neeraja on May 13th, 2008 5:19 pm

    @Tom(Mitch)Cruise
    lol stop saying that! it reminds me of a very stupid(and inappropriate) joke.

  13. snehal on May 14th, 2008 1:33 am

    Can you please share the links for downloading the three nolan classics?

  14. kartik krishnan on May 14th, 2008 1:51 am

    snehal - not sureif pfc policy allows that …
    goto video.google.com …enter the film name ..sort by duration greater than 20 mins …. you should be able to find the links there

  15. doremi on May 14th, 2008 8:40 am

    Memento is my favourite. Sick sick film. Prestige next. Thought Pacino was brilliant in Insomnia, at his best. Not as good as his other movies but I seriousy loved it when I saw it.

    Haven’t watched The Following. Will in a few days deffo. And Batman Begins is possibly the best superhero movie of them all.

  16. snehal on May 14th, 2008 9:26 pm

    thanks kartik.

  17. Mayurica on May 16th, 2008 4:47 am

    For me, Memento is a classic. To be able to think like him and construct that screenplay - incredible ! i think i can watch it ne number of times… infact, when u see Following (watched it after memento), u retro-realise that it cd be the blueprint for memento. not in terms of the story, but the more in terms of a director’s thought process… the evolution of his art. but was quite disappointed with insomnia - felt it wasn’t upto the nolan standard of unpredictability. looking fwd to batman !!!

    ps - thx to mainak for introducing me to nolan way back in college :)

  18. Pankaj on May 16th, 2008 6:33 am

    “Was it really an “indi” film ? Doesn’t look like it…”

    What do indie films look like Kartik?? Grainy stock?? Handheld Camera?? Restricted locales?? I think what you mean here is low budget (since the movie was shot for 3000 pounds.. excluding post pro). He needed his day job so he shot the film during weekends. An indie film could have a big budget provided you get the right financiers.

  19. kartik krishnan on May 16th, 2008 9:05 am

    pankaj - u answered ur own question

  20. Arthi V on July 22nd, 2008 10:51 pm

    LOL..Good post Kartik. Can actually imagine you tearing your hair out understanding Nolan’s films and yet throroughly enjoying every bit of it..I guess this is the case for most of us who enjoy his films.

    I’ve seen Memento 2 times..thot I’d understood the end but only later when I’d read an article (dont remember in which magazine) that the end actually signifies kind of a beginning - of a psychopath being born. Because of his short term memory loss, Pearce will always be on the look out for the “killer” of his wife and the cycle to track and kill him will continue.

    This didn’t strike me at all in the first place. Now I feel, its so possible..and it was so evident..Brilliant film indeed…

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