Dunkirk – Review

This review was written for, and appears on Wales Arts Review.

Dunkirk – trailer

I am a huge fan of Christopher Nolan. The Prestige in particular, is one of my favourite films. For some, his action sequences are poorly shot, and the emotional core of his films can seem hackneyed. Personally, these criticisms have never landed with me. While Nolan’s direction doesn’t always work, his attempts to create intelligent, multifaceted films should always be praised.

His latest effort, Dunkirk, due next summer, looks suitably impressive in scope. Starring Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy, the film features muted cinematography coupled with huge scale action sequences. Given that Nolan has written the script, I will be interested to see the nature and direction of the narrative. It looks, from the trailer at least, that the film will largely feature an ensemble cast. Given the continued focus of the event, featuring in countless film narratives, I am looking forward to seeing how Nolan attempts to offer a new take on the event.

Considering The Prestige – spoilers

Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige is by no means perfect. Rough around the edges with a plot that requires an entire suspension of disbelief, the film was released in between Nolan’s hugely successfully Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and it is probably because of this that The Prestige is largely underrated despite its star cast (Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman).

Loosely adapted from Christopher Priest’s novel of the same name, The Prestige, focuses on the rivalry between two magicians in Victorian era England. Angier (Hugh Jackman) favours a more dramatic manner of stage craft, performing each trick with a flourish. Borden (Christian Bale) opts for a rather more direct style, meaning for the tricks to speak for themselves. The pair’s rivalry sparks when Angier’s young wife dies during a trick in which Borden has a hand in.

The Prestige is not merely a depiction of rivalry and revenge however, and to describe it thus would sell it short. What is really at the heart of the film is the central conceit: how dedicated are you to your own craft? How far will you go in order to succeed in your craft? As it transpires (and this is simply put as the film is rather wonderfully convoluted) Borden has been living his trick every day. He and his twin, who has been ever present in the film’s narrative lurking in the shadows, have lived as one man in order to present their trick ‘The Transported Man’ in which Borden appears to instantaneously transport himself across the stage. Angier, desperate to discover the secret to this trick, goes to great lengths in order to replicate it consulting the inventor Tesla. Angier instructs Tesla to build a contraption that will transport him in the same manner. Tesla fails in this endeavour, but in his research creates a cloning machine which Angier quickly adopts for his use.

What is really fascinating about the film’s narrative is the ingenious structure: Nolan very clearly signposts to us throughout the film that we should be anticipating a trick, a reveal of some manner, and yet when it does finally come at the film’s conclusion we are left stunned, questioning how it could have ever been conceived: much like Borden and Angier’s audience’s are left questioning the magician’s trick. Borden comments early on in the film’s narrative upon a fellow magician who in the public eye has belied his true young age, acting the decrepit old man in order to carry out an impressive trick on-stage. Borden notes to Angier the dedication that has taken place, and it is only retrospectively that we realise he is too commenting on his own sacrifice. Similarly, Michael Caine’s Cutter, the stage engineer (ingenieur), repeatedly tells Angier that the only way Borden’s ‘Transported Man’ can be carried out is through the use of a double, which as we later discover, is entirely accurate.

Nolan posits himself as a magician too, waiting until the last moment to reveal the meaning behind the heavy references to the film’s central notion. He, in a meta-like fashion, repeatedly refers to the film’s structure through the description of the structure of a trick. As Cutter states, ‘every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called “The Pledge”…The second act is called “The Turn”. …every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call “The Prestige”.”.

Interstellar – trailer

Being a huge fan of Christopher Nolan, it should come as no surprise that I am already eagerly anticipating the release of Nolan’s latest effort, Interstellar. As ever, little has been revealed about the plot and the trailer does little to illuminate the narrative. It is known that the film will feature a team of space travellers who journey through a wormhole. Nolan excels in creating the spectacle and I am sure Interstellar will be no different. Despite this, at the moment Interstellar seems to be a quieter, more reflective affair than Inception or The Dark Knight, perhaps more Memento or The Prestige than the aforementioned blockbusters. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine and the sublime Jessica Chastain, I am sure Interstellar will not disappoint.

The Dark Knight Rises – trailer

Being an ardent lover of Christopher Nolan films, rejoicing in their serious profundity, I was keen to view the latest trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan’s final Batman offering.

Featuring a few choice scenes, linking the latest trailer with the previous teasers, the prospect of Nolan’s latest fills me with undeniable excitement.

As ever, Nolan’s film is sweepingly, epically shot; featuring an array of cityscapes and action sequences. After the previous bombastic efforts, the latest trailer chooses to introduce a moment of reflection, further indicating that the final film may feature Bruce’s demise.

Anne Hathaway, whose casting initially filled with me some degree of trepidation, looks set to excel: her Selina Kyle appears independent, strong and intelligent.

Nolan’s casts are always incredible, and with his latest effort he has truly excelled: featuring both the magnetic Tom Hardy and the excellent Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I truly cannot wait.

The Dark Knight Rises- Trailer

For some, myself included, the main draw for the latest Harry Potter film was the opportunity to see the teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. Previous teaser trailers for Christopher Nolan films have been hugely successful in building a real sense of anticipation, whilst maintaining plot secrecy.  Perhaps then, my expectations for The Dark Knight Rises teaser were altogether too high, as this first glimpse into the final film in the Nolan trilogy simply left me feeling deflated.

Much of the trailer was comprised of footage from the previous two films, feeling rather lazy and hastily put together. What little footage we did see from the latest film was, in true Nolan style, vague, revealing little of what we can expect. Whilst I have no doubt that The Dark Knight Rises will be another fine Nolan film, I only wish the first teaser trailer had been put together better.

Four Favourite Directors Part Four – Christopher Nolan

Nolan is notable for his ability to not only treat his audience as intellectuals, but for his ability to combine the cerebral with the Blockbuster. Nolan’s films are both hugely financially and critically successful. His latest effort Inception was that rare thing, a highly intelligent action film.

Nolan too, helped reinvent the Batman series, incredibly making Bruce Wayne an entirely feasible character. Nolan’s re-boot has led to a number of other comic book films using a similar format in an attempt to breathe new life in hitherto staid films.

Nolan’s work repeatedly returns to the idea of obsession, revenge and regret: his protagonists are highly flawed beings, who are all too aware of their flaws. Making no apologies for the serious manner in which he treats his subject matter, his films may sometimes be at fault of too much gravitas, yet such is Nolan’s perfect execution that such criticisms can easily be forgiven.

Nolan is impressive in the sheer ambition of his work, and if nothing else, it is for his ambition and the scope of his work alone that he deserves to be remembered.

Inception Review

Inception, Christopher Nolan’s latest offering, not only further confirms his status as a truly visionary director, but surely cements his place as one of the greatest British directors currently working.

Nolan has an unrivalled ability to combine the cerebral with the Blockbuster; The Dark Knight is one of only six films to gross $1 billion, whilst maintaining its artistic integrity and vision. His direction manages to consistently strike an even balance between the intellectually stimulating and the visually inspiring, satisfying even the most discerning film-goer.

Inception is a film which benefits from the audience’s lack of knowledge or insight. This is not to say it will not still impress on repeat viewings, but rather, much like Nolan’s earlier work Memento and The Prestige, the first viewing will entirely engross the viewer, to the extent that repeat viewings are almost a pre-requisite.

Inception takes place in a world in which it is possible to enter people’s dreams and to create the very architecture of the dream. Leonardo Dicaprio plays Dom Cobb, an extractor; he enters people’s dreams to extract secrets, often industry secrets for competing companies. Cobb is offered a business opportunity, which due to personal circumstances, is impossible for him to refuse; this opportunity provides the catalyst for the events of the film.

Once again like much of Nolan’s work, Inception uses a multi-layered narrative, aiding and enhancing the film’s depiction of its characters – who too, in the case of Cobb, display hidden depths. Importantly the choice of a dream setting ensures that Nolan is not limited by any attempts to adhere to realism; thus its set-pieces are truly inspired, and there are a number of intensely memorable scenes. Ellen Page’s character, Ariadne, remarks that the dream is ‘pure creation’, and there is a real sense that this is what Inception is for Nolan: an attempt to test his limits as a filmmaker and the limits of his imagination.

Nolan’s first original work since Memento, Inception is an ambitious, beautifully realised film with an admirable cast; Inception is another pitch-perfect film to add to Nolan’s already inspired back-catalogue.

5/5