In one of the first book length studies of Christopher Nolan's films, author Tom Shone presents his subject as something of an enigma. In an age when many are writing obituaries for cinema and lamenting the glut of comic book movies or the rise of streaming - a new Nolan film is considered something of an event. While he built his reputation by revitalizing the Batman franchise, the three films he made (Batman Begins (2005); The Dark Knight (2008); The Dark Knight Rises (2012) exist in their own universe and stand on their own. They're more a part of Nolan's own mythology, rather than Batman lore. So, we have a rarity: an auteur who makes big budget movies during a time it's considered a passé. Nolan revels in being both anachronistic and futuristic simultaneously. To quote the author:
His films are deeply personal fantasies lent urgency and conviction by their maker's need to view fantasy not as some second rate version of reality but its equal, as vital as oxygen. He dreams with his eyes open and asks that we do the same. (15)
Shone conducted a series of interviews with Nolan over the past 20 years, their first meeting during the promotion of Nolan's 2000 film Memento. Despite the generous access Nolan provided Shone on his creative process and views on everything from philosophy and art to his youth spent shuttling between America and the England, Shone finds Nolan to be an enigma, often inscrutable. It would be easy to compare Nolan to Stanley Kubrick since both were directors who managed to construct their own worlds and follow their own artistic preoccupations. But Nolan is far more outgoing with the public than Kubrick despite his mysterious reputation. Highly secretive about his projects, Nolan views cinema as a means to explore a myriad of philosophical, scientific, and historical possibilities. The book is especially useful for insight on Nolan's influences for each film ranging from the paintings of Francis Bacon, the stories of Jorge Luis Borges, and Victorian ideas of time.
Time and its many forms border on obsession in Nolan's filmography, as well as connections between perception and space. Whether it be the backwards narrative in Memento or the disorienting levels of dreamscape in his 2008 film Inception or the bending of spacetime in his 2014 film Interstellar. Packaging these weighty themes into blockbusters goes back to Nolan's fascination cinema history and the filmmakers who pushed the medium forward under the guise of being a mainstream filmmaker whether it be Spielberg or Lean. By this point in his career, Nolanesque has become its own adjective for a specific type of high concept film.
A chapter is devoted to each film, Shone including details on the production and the genesis of each project. The James Bond franchise, in particular Thunderball and You Only Live Twice, influenced all the Batman movies. Crime films and noir influenced The Dark Knight, while the Charles Dickens classic A Tale of Two Cities played into the The Dark Knight Rises. Nolan avoids explaining his films, sheepishly claiming his first objective is to entertain, and shrugs off the idea his movies are intricate puzzles designed for endless Reddit discussions.
The book includes photographs and illustrations to along with the text. The author's professional relationship with Nolan provides an inside view of Nolan who keeps living a low key lifestyle with his wife Emma Thomas (and producing partner) and four children (and continues collaborating with his brother Jonathan Nolan on scripts.) There's a lot of fascinating background on his working relationship with the film composer Hans Zimmer. I would highly recommend to any film devotee, even those who are not fans of Nolan who will gain insight from it.
