– Christopher Nolan –
According to Bazin “… Directors are the authors of the film and should create their own signature style and not be totally influenced by the script given.” Even though there are no specific definitions for Auteur Theory it can be said that – the films reflect the personal ideas and styles of the director or director is the author of the work. A director must exhibit certain characteristics of style, which serve as his signature, so this is that ability to look at a shot and go, “Oh that is totally Hitchcock!”
Christopher Nolan, is one of the few directors who can walk into a Hollywood studio with an idea and come out with $200m. As his career progressed from hit-to-hit, Nolan has been increasingly described by journalists as a ‘Blockbuster auteur’. I consider Nolan to be a true auteur, working with constant themes of identity, truth and time, whilst also collaborating with recurrent actors, producers, production members and writers.
Labelled “Hitchcock’s successor” by Telegraph writer Will Lawrence. Though many critics have remarked Nolan’s auteur status being unjust; of his feature films he has directed, six have been either remakes, adaptations, or franchise films. Michael Caine, who’s appeared in six of Nolan’s films, including Interstellar, said; “He reminds me of Hitchcock, the way that everything is about creating the best moments of suspense.” Nolan fits within the bracket of a “complete filmmaker” in all aspects of pre-production, production and post-production. He prefers to control the directorial process; no second directing unit, just him and the camera. This is unnatural in the world of Hollywood blockbusters as the majority of directors prefer to work on audience favour ability with constant explosions.
Nolan has an auteur approach, placing emphasis on his characters and the audience’s relationship over their actions; although the fantasy element plays an important role too, they’re always realistically grounded. Excluding his The Dark Knight trilogy, Nolan’s movies require extensive historical backstories and factual information to support their looping plots which stimulate his overall time shifting signatures, whether this be the progression of time, or the idea of time as a theme for the narrative. The films’ stylistic and thematic attributes have similarities to Nolan’s past and present work. Nolan uses the story of Bruce Wayne to examine our own personal and social identities, harping onto memory and personality as key themes which have been represented in other Nolan films. He uses this with the constant use of his themes, tones and stories that are intellectual, philosophical and sophisticated as well as entertaining.
Nolan is a director that searches for a technical challenge in film-making, productions that connect the audience to his stories. An example of his is preference on shooting on location rather than creating a set. He says he is inspired by “the claustrophobia, the restrictions involved in trying to make your story work in a real location, versus the anything-goes mentality on sets.” He embodies this within his auteur signature. Looked upon as an auteur filmmaker, Nolan’s distinctive style frequently showcases arresting cityscapes, muted colours, modern architecture and multifaceted plot-lines running in parallel with each other. Aesthetically, he typically prefers striking shadows, documentary style lighting and natural locations rather than the constricted setting of studio work. Additionally he often uses the camera to its full-capacity, attempting to create as many of his special effects as he can, rather than creating them within the post production edit. The acting, the plot, special effects, advancing film technology and sound all contribute to his growing wealth of film logic in the audience and his auteur signature. “I have a faith,” he said, “that any audience can tell the difference between something that’s consistent to rules versus something that’s totally made up and anarchic.”
If you are watching a Christopher Nolan film, there are few things to look for that would identify it. Let’s call them Nolan’s trademarks as a director. Non-Linear Storytelling is the first one. What Nolan is probably best known for is that he doesn’t tell his stories linearly. He makes extensive use of flashbacks and flash-forwards to add additional depth and explanation. As such, a common theme is having multiple story threads that link together. In Memento, for example, the story is told from both ends at the same time. In The Prestige, the film is split into two stories that are from the perspectives of two different characters, and as events in one story-line occur, they add clarity to events that happen in the other. Nearly, all of Nolan’s films have an opening scene or at least just a clip of a scene that is not in chronological order with the rest of the film. For instance, in Memento, the opening sequence is the last scene played backwards and in Interstellar it’s there is a flash forward to clips of an interview, then a clip of flashback/dream.
Also, in many of Nolan’s films, a main character starts off with redeeming qualities only to be shown later as having evil qualities. These characters can be the protagonist or someone who is at first assisting the protagonist. They often start off as heroic or seem like they have good intentions, but by the end of the film are antagonists or anti-heroes. In The Prestige, the protagonist is Angier (Hugh Jackman) who plays the victim’s role when Borden (Christian Bale) causes the death of his wife. In the end though, Angier’s obsession with revenge ends up making him as much of a villain than Borden. Nolan’s Batman trilogy has one major supporting character that switches sides in each film. Ducard/Ra’s al Ghul in Batman Begins, Harvey Dent/Two Face in The Dark Knight, and Miranda Tate/Talia al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises.
Furthermore, Nolan is an auteur director, which basically means that he has his hand in just about everything. Although stories are his forte, he also pays close attention to the manner in which his films are shot. In particular, Nolan is very careful with where he puts his camera, and what it shows the audience. This is especially true when a scene is focusing on a character or dialogue. Nolan’s favourite shot is to place the camera behind his actor at eye level. This is to allow the audience to “see” from the character’s perspective without actually being that character. It is a clever way to create a first-person like experience for the audience without giving up a third-person storytelling advantage. For example, in Inception, the vertigo-inducing fight sequence in the twisting hotel room is shot from behind Arthur. Even in his recent film, Dunkirk, he relied on a story about human frailty and the way ordinary people react to the survival impulse. The power of the cinematography simultaneously delineates vast beach-fronts, imposing air raids and the subjective point-of-view of bewildered soldiers caught up in the chaos of war.
Shining Light is an essential signature we must talk about. Nolan uses light, darkness, and the contrast of those things to show character growth/decay and exploration. In Batman Begins it is Bruce Wayne who, with the help of a flashlight, ventures into the bat cave for the first time to face his fears. In The Prestige, it is a field of light bulbs free of wires that allows Angier to experience amazement from something real, not an illusion. In Inception, there is a ceiling of lights in the first/last scene of the movie (similar to the idea of a field of light as in The Prestige) which not only captivates the audience but helps them make the connection between the two very important future/past sequences. Having skilful lighting, allows Nolan to adjust and manipulate impressions that are conveyed on the screen. Nolan’s strong and clever lighting choices can be distinguished throughout all his films.
Connections is Nolan’s biggest signature. It is also the one that’s the hardest to spot. All of Nolan’s films have various levels of connections. These connections can be physical or based on ideas and themes. Some of them are obvious and therefore easy to point out (The Batman Trilogy), while others are more obscure and are just theory at this point (The Prestige Trilogy). Although Nolan’s films have made technological advances over time, production values have increased, and actors have aged, his films are remarkably consistent in presentation. The key is the people he works with. Even though The Prestige takes place in the early 20th century, the film feels eerily similar to Inception or Insomnia. Each of Nolan’s films have a connection to the film that immediately preceded it. This may be intentional or just coincidence, as some connections are stronger than others. In Memento the clock that is used in the film is the same one that is stolen in Following. Both of the main characters in Insomnia talk to the person they are after on a phone before they know who that person is. Both of them receive this phone call while in a hotel room. The beginning of Batman Begins takes place near an icy glacier, a homage to the glacier shown in the opening scene of Insomnia. Finally, The Prestige starts off with Christian Bale’s character in prison, just like Batman Begins. These are just some of the connections. There are much more, including connections between films that are not back-to-back. Examples include the fact that in both Batman Begins and Inception Ken Watanabe’s character dies by a roof caving in on him.
However, several good critiques have been made of auteur theory. The director simply can’t take all the credit of making a successful film. In his book, Andre Sarris agrees that the role of the director as an author needs expertise in the fields of technicality, signature style, and influence of personality but a movie simply cannot be made without a team effort from actors, script, camera techniques and every single detail that needs to appear on the screen. And for Nolan, he frequently collaborates with his producing-wife, Emma Thomas; she has executively produced every single one of his nine films (including Following). His brother, long-time writer partner Jonathan has worked on all-but three of Nolan’s films. Wally Pfister, his long-time Academy Award winning cinematographer has shot every single one of his films, bar Interstellar and film score legend Hans Zimmer has composed his last six films, along with his editor and production designer, Lee Smith and Nathan Crowley.
Therefore, the visual texture of his films remains similar because his principle of photography (cinematographer Wally Pfister) has been the same for all of his films except The Following. The soundscape of his films remains similar because Hans Zimmer has made all of the soundtracks since Batman Begins. Each film of the Batman trilogy has a similar feel to the story because Nolan wrote them all with his brother Jonathan, who also wrote Interstellar and the short story on which Memento is based. There’s also a consistency with the people in front of the camera. Once Nolan finds an actor/actress he likes working with, he often uses them for more than one film. We can say that Nolan implements a strong impact towards the personal creative vision of his films proving his auteurship.
Looking at all these elements that make an auteur, Nolan consistently produces stunning, instantly recognisable imagery and always finds innovative ways to tell a story that is visceral and intellectual all at once and after viewing his unique signatures we can say to ourselves, “Oh yes, this is definitely a Christopher Nolan film.”
“I think audiences get too comfortable and familiar in today’s movies. They believe everything they’re hearing and seeing. I like to shake that up.” – Christopher Nolan
Bibliography:
- G.S. Perno. (2014). Directors’ Trademarks: Christopher Nolan. Available: https://www.cinelinx.com/movie-news/movie-stuff/directors-trademarx-christopher-nolan/. Last accessed 01/04/20.
- Dan Lewsey. (2017). Christopher Nolan: An Auteur, or Just Another Filmmaker?. Available: http://danlewsey.com/christophernolan/. Last accessed 01/04/20.
- (2020). Application of Auteur Theory to Christopher Nolan. Available: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/film-studies/application-of-auteur-theory-to-christopher-nolan.php. Last accessed 01/04/20.
- Mary Wild. (2017). The Auteur Rises: Christopher Nolan and Dunkirk on Film. Available: https://www.citylit.ac.uk/blog/auteur-rises-christopher-nolan-and-dunkirk-film. Last accessed 01/04/20.
- Jacqui Griffin. (2017). A Quick Guide To Auteur Theory. Available: https://www.filminquiry.com/quick-guide-auteur-theory/. Last accessed 01/04/20.
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