10 Harsh Truths You Don't Want To Admit About Chris Nolan's Movies

3. Hand-Holding Dialogue

One of the golden maxims of screenwriting is "show, don't tell", meaning that ideas should be demonstrated more through actions than words where possible, a rule Nolan has frequently betrayed throughout his filmography. Nolan himself has confessed that he overwrites his exposition in an effort to ensure he has plenty of choices in the editing room if he gets into trouble, but in Inception, his love for expository dialogue became particularly abundant, and annoying. Rather than give viewers some breathing room to pick things up for themselves, the movie's characters (especially Ellen Page's Ariadne) excitedly ask questions and explain things purely for our benefit, and while to a degree this is needed given the movie's ambitious concept, it is done without an ounce of subtlety, and certainly goes overboard. This ties into the prior notion that Nolan wants audiences to feel like they're smart: by overwhelming them with exposition, there's a greater likelihood that they're going to "get" the movie. Nolan's movies have plenty of show already, but they could probably do with a little less "tell".