Post#1284 » by milesfides » Sat Jul 19, 2008 3:12 am
Memento was impressive. It was executed really well. It was also original (to me, and probably to most mainstream audiences), although some have noted a few other films that used the same concept.
I would agree with what ST said - Nolan is very meticulous. Most of his films that I've seen have been well-crafted, including his first film, The Following, which was otherwise incredibly boring to me. Batman Begins was oddly edited though - the transitions are too abrupt to build tension, and there were too many subplots to set up a major conflict with a satisfactory payoff. Joe Chill, Ras al Ghoul, Scarecrow, the mobsters - too many villains can be distracting, like Spiderman 3.
I've been most impressed with The Prestige - I think that was his best, complete film, and I think it's the most obvious and direct representation of Nolan's strength as a director: the madness of obsession.
There's a certain ruthlessness to his work. Nolan has a fetish for characters who are obsessed, to the point of madness:
The Following- a protagonist is obsessed with stalking strangers
Memento, Pearce's obsessed with revenge
Insomnia, Pacino's obsessed with guilt
Prestige, characters are obsessed with mastery
Batman Begins, Bale is obsessed with justice (possibly guilt)
It's certainly interesting, but there's something cold about his films. These are madmen. If Kobe Bryant needed somebody to make his biopic, he should call Nolan.
Still, some of his films could have used a little more emotional development. His characters are usually flat, because they merely serve as vehicles for Nolan's obsession with obsession.
It almost makes him a misogynist. There are no romances or other meaningful relationships in his stories. They're always indirect, off-screen, or implied. Or simply avoided. He's completely disinterested in developing that aspect of the story, which is why his films all revolve around loners who do little more than pursue their obsessions.
One thing that really disappointed me about Batman Begins is Bruce Wayne's motivations weren't convincing enough. He begins the movie as an obsessed vigilante. When he's with The Secret League of Ninjas at the beginning of the movie, he's already Batman without the suit. Nolan shows that he's sad for his parents as a kid (impassive of course), but he's a ninja before we see him descend into the madness that creates Batman. For an origins movie, I thought Batman Begins should have let us in on the rich emotional undercurrent of the comics. Batman Year One, The Dark Knight Returns, these are graphic novels that make some literature lists, and both depict Bruce Wayne's transformation into the Batman much more convincingly.
In this new film, I just hope Nolan makes Batman a little more human, a little more accessible. After all, that's a major difference between him and the Man of Steel. Batman is flesh and bones, and like the rest of us, he can bleed. He can feel too, or so one would expect.
Hopefully I can feel too, when I go see this thing tomorrow.
