10 Reasons Why Christopher Nolan is a Great Director
6. He made the best Batman series
Various directors, over the years, have tried their hand at the ‘Batman’ series. When Tim Burton gave his exceptional style to it, one was certain that no other filmmaker will ever be able to come close to that kind of brilliance. However, Nolan re-defined the superhero genre for everyone. His super hero was full of shades of grey. The battle did not essentially remain good vs. evil. His anti-hero Joker became larger than Batman as well, in terms of popularity and style. His ‘Batman’ series took the story of Bruce Wayne to another level. The film commented on various sociological and philosophical theories. These films also went on to become extremely successful commercially, and also helped him in conquering the mainstream industry.
7. He is a stylish director
Nolan always wears a suit or a coat to his sets. He believes in directing his films when he is in complete ease with himself. He is someone who really respects his medium, and he pays tribute to it by always being dressed formally to sets. He is sweet enough to put it simply – he used to go to a boarding school and he has always been used to dressing up in a uniform. He also got used to the various pockets. He likes having those pockets, as they really help him in the process of directing on sets.
8. He builds a world and sticks to it
Nolan’s films are mostly based in a hyper-real space. He often builds a world of his own, which has its own rules and logic. After he constructs this alternative reality, he sticks by the logics that are self-created. Whether it is the world of a dream within a dream, or it is the super hero world of Batman, he is a post-modernist who loves dealing with hyper reality. He loves to comment on various sociological and physiological aspects of humanity. He also comments on morality and ethics in his own strange ways. His take on these issues is pretty interesting and evolved. You might disagree with him, but you have to give it to him that he is a gifted story teller.
9. He is an actor-friendly director
He has worked with some of the most popular and talented actors. Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Al Pacino, Hugh Jackman are to name a few. He has been popular for showing utmost patience on set with his actors. He lets them go for as many takes as the actor desires. Gary Oldman has praised the director for how he gives independence to his actors and lets them be. He never gives directions for the heck of it. In fact, he lets his actors experiment.
10. He is influenced by some of the greatest works around him
One of his favorite films is ‘Bladerunner’, which was directed by another exceptionally talented director, Ridley Scott. He too was a postmodernist and one can see many similarities in his and Nolan’s work. However, in spite of this, Nolan’s work is pretty original. He has also been a great fan of Stanley Kubrick’s work. Nolan never went to a film school, but one can see that he has imbibed great filmmaking from the greatest filmmakers ever seen, and that is precisely why his work is exceptional.
Nolan is pretty young and he has a long way to go. With such a fabulous history, one can expect a lot of brilliance in the coming years. His next film ‘Interstellar’ is due for release late this year. Let us see what kind of magic he creates for us, all over again.
