Lifting the curtain on Christopher Nolan's legacy of time-bending, formula-breaking blockbusters

'Oppenheimer' is only the last in a long list of films that boast Nolan's signature mark, reminding us that cinema is art. But Hollywood's priorities are not so black-and-white.

Universal Pictures / Warner Bros / Al Majalla

Inside Christopher Nolan's ongoing legacy and his directorial mark in cinema.

Lifting the curtain on Christopher Nolan's legacy of time-bending, formula-breaking blockbusters

Mohammed Rouda

last update on 30 Sep 2023

In Hollywood Reporter’s roundtable interview with Christopher Nolan, sitting amongst peers like Angelina Jolie and Richard Linklater, he's asked a loaded question: Define the job of a director.

“Filmmaking,” he replies, without a second thought.

“Putting images together.”

It seems like a painfully simple answer, particularly for a director who has been releasing blockbuster hits for over two decades.

His sophomore film, Memento (2000), was the first to put him on the map. Since then, he’s released films like The Dark Knight, Inception, Interstellar, Tenet, Dunkirk and most recently, Oppenheimer.

Twentieth Century Fox — 'Memento' (2000)

At first sight, his films might seem vastly different.

Taking Memento and contrasting it against (the much bigger budget) Oppenheimer will bring up a long list of dissimilarities.

But some threads tie them together, too. There’s a reason film critics have dubbed him a master manipulator of time.

There's a reason film critics have dubbed Christopher Nolan, a master manipulator of time. In Memento, sequences play out in reverse order and, in Oppenheimer, he uses flashbacks to play with the flow of events.

Memento (2000) revolves around Guy Pearce, a man with short-term memory issues trying to find out who killed his wife. Nolan wrote its screenplay based on a short story authored by his brother, Jonathan. Famously, many of its sequences play out in reverse order.

In the nuclear war epic Oppenheimer (2023), Nolan subtly calls back to this technique. He doesn't explicitly reverse scenes, but he uses flashbacks to play with the flow of events.

Meanwhile, "time inversion" is a visually impressive theme Tenet (2020), while "time dilation" is a central concept in Inception (2010), where the lead character Arthur says: "Five minutes in the real world gives you an hour in the dream."

Colour versus black-and-white

Another signature Nolan move, which skillfully disrupts and enhances the viewing experience for audiences, is his use of colour. He often shifts to black and white, as evident in both Memento and Oppenheimer.

Here, Nolan goes against the popular convention of using monochrome to indicate past events, instead using it to indicate 'flashforwards' – as seen in Memento.

Nolan did this again in Oppenheimer, where current events play out in colour, and those in the future, including the trials of Oppenheimer, are in black and white.

Universal Pictures

But that's not the only trick in his toolbox. Some are less obvious.

In Insomnia (2002), starring Al Pacino in the role of Will Dormer, a detective with chronic sleep deprivation arrives in Alaska to investigate a murder. Unable to get a good night's sleep and obsessed with the elusive murder case, he deteriorates into a state of mental and physical ruin – eventually committing a grave mistake.

Here, Nolan presents sleep not as a passive act, or a "pause", but as an integral period of time during which crucial events can take place.

A running theme

The connection between the past, present, and future – as seen through Nolan's lens – is also evident in his other films, where multiple worlds seem to "exist" at the same time.

The connection between the past, present, and future – as seen through Nolan's lens – is also evident in his other films, where multiple worlds seem to "exist" at the same time.

For instance, he uses the concept of time to depict competition between two magicians (Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman) in The Prestige (2006), while utilising it to showcase parallel realities in Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

In Interstellar (2014), he takes a different approach, focusing on humanity's search for a livable planet as Earth deteriorates, with astronauts eventually finding themselves suspended between finite and infinite realms.

Warner Brothers

His Batman trilogy (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises) flows smoothly between past and present (and real and imagined) events while steering clear of his more 'abrupt' time shifts.

Nolan is deeply involved in not only directing but also screenwriting and editing his films. That means he's involved in almost every major decision that impacts his viewers' immersion.

Solid pacing, a compelling context, and ultimately, the audience's experience, all play into what makes a film a blockbuster – and Nolan seems to be keyed into each and every one of them.

Film versus digital

Nowadays, artistic merit and quality aren't prerequisites for box office success. Popcorn films are just as likely to rake in millions – if not billions – in ticket sales.

Nolan's experimentation with time isn't an inevitability of the films he makes, nor is it an obvious choice. But his personal touch is what makes his features stand out.

Christopher Nolan on the 70mm IMAX format:

"The sharpness and the clarity and the depth of the image is unparalleled. The headline, for me, is by shooting on IMAX 70mm film, you're really letting the screen disappear. You're getting a feeling of 3D without the glasses. You've… pic.twitter.com/peNlLZ9ibf
— Christopher Nolan Art & Updates (@NolanAnalyst) June 2, 2023

As a storyteller, he isn't afraid to tackle polarising issues (such as nuclear war), either – yet his risks always seem to pay off. As of writing, Oppenheimer has amassed more than $850mn, making it his third biggest release to date. It's also the second-most successful R-rated film of all time, behind Todd Phillips' billion-dollar Joker (2019).

Nevertheless, some critics have questioned Nolan's decision to shoot Oppenheimer in IMAX, as well as his insistence on using 70mm film instead of modern digital techniques.

Some critics have questioned Nolan's decision to shoot Oppenheimer in IMAX, as well as his insistence on using 70mm film instead of modern digital techniques.

Other critics find that it's through these technical choices that Nolan can communicate his vision. Cinema becomes a meaningful and complex undertaking rather than an afterthought.

A rich experience

Whether it's his intent or not, Nolan seems to be presenting audiences with rich, intricate and artistic alternatives to commercial, profit-driven films produced by Hollywood, at a time when most film studios are still more likely to play it safe by sticking to a formula and over-relying on special effects.

Nolan's track record has allowed him more leeway than most. It's hard to imagine an up-and-coming director getting the green light for a massive budget feature that thinks outside the box, no matter how good the idea.

Universal Pictures

While some critics might find Nolan's style pretentious or overrated, several established filmmakers are firmly in Nolan's corner.

American director Francis Ford Coppola and screenwriter Paul Schrader have both praised Oppenheimer highly – describing it as the film that could save cinema from its ongoing identity.

Whether that's true remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: As a director, Nolan does much more than "put images together." He creates art through space and time.

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