1. Obsession
I know I can't have her back... but I don't want to wake up in the morning, thinking she's still here. I lie here not knowing... how long I've been alone. So how... how can I heal? How am I supposed to heal if I can't... feel time? If there is absolutely without question one element connecting all of Nolan's movies together, it is the obsessed protagonists. Every main character in every Nolan film completely obsesses over something to the point of detriment. Most often these obsessions are over lost loved ones or tragic past events that come to define who they are. The protagonist of Following starts out somewhat normal, but when he starts to follow people for inspiration, it soon becomes addictive. He breaks all the rules he laid out for himself, and soon finds himself wound up in a conspiracy that ultimately destroys his life. His obsession takes him to the end until no amount of excuses can free him from the hole he as dug. Memento is a simple story of revenge which just happens to feature a protagonist with short-term memory loss. Thinking his wife was murdered, he sets out on a quest to kill the person who took her away, whatever the cost. He has a tattoo across his chest as a constant reminder of his purpose and leaves clues for himself to keep track of his investigation. Leonard's obsession might not even be explicitly his fault, as he can't form new memories, and thus can't move on. He is so obsessed with avenging his wife that even after he has already done it, he willingly lies to himself to keep the quest alive. This is a man obsessed with vengeance that is physically incapable of moving on; obsession at its most pure. Will Dormer of Insomnia is the classic obsessed detective archetype; a man who pushes all possibilities of a social life out and dedicates himself to the job. He is so obsessed with catching perpetrators that he is willing to fabricate evidence to achieve a conviction. The guilt he feels from such acts, as well as the accidental murder and cover up of his partner, eats away at him little by little; aided by the constant sunlight of Alaska. The Prestige has magicians Angier and Borden, people so obsessed with their craft and one-upping the other that it drives them to extremes. Angier, in particular, is obsessed not only with magic but with getting revenge on Borden for the death of his wife. He starts out as the more sympathetic character of the two, but by the end his obsession with revenge makes him do terrible things. Both hurt the people they care about because they are too dedicated to their passion. In Inception, Dom Cobb, like Leonard, Angier, and Harvey Dent, is a man torn apart by grief over his dead wife. He becomes so obsessed with feeling guilty that it manifests itself in his dreams in the form of Mal and sabotages him. Cobb doesn't think he is worthy of being successful. He purposefully constructs dreams around memories of her as he is unable to let go. He is also understandably obsessed with getting back to his kids, and it is these two obsessions that are constantly at odds with each other; one pushing forward, the other pushing back. Given Nolans fascination with obsession, it is not surprising that he turned out to be perfectly suited to direct Batman movies. Bruce Wayne is the ultimate obsessed individual; a man who cannot let go of a tragedy that defines every action he takes. This is a man so unable to let go that goes to the extreme of dressing up as a bat to fight crime. Yes, his motives are good, but it really serves as a means to channel all the rage he feels for the death of his parents. The difference is that, instead of channeling it for only personal gratification, he also works to enact positive change to Gotham City. In The Dark Knight, Bruce gets lost inside the Batman persona in his fight against the Joker and goes to extremes to catch him. In The Dark Knight Rises, Gotham no longer needs Batman but Bruce still does, so he remains frozen in time for many years. Rises is about him finally getting over the pain that drove him for the entirety of his life and moving on to live a normal life. Despite telling stories about obsessed people, Nolan never glamorizes the obsession. His films act as warnings about the dangers of letting something take over your life. His protagonists are relatable because we all identify with obsession in some way, and so we root for the characters to overcome them. Some characters, such as Leonard and Angier, end up letting their obsessions get the better of them. Others, such as Dom Cobb and Bruce Wayne, are able to overcome them and move on. The films of Christopher Nolan may differ from each other in many ways, but the commonality between them all is their examination of the obsessed individual and the effect it has on their lives and the lives of those around them. Are you a fan of Christopher Nolan's style? Hate it? Let us know!