Most Recent Film: Interstellar (2014) Next Film: N/A Best Film: Memento (2000) It's key that most directors have vision, but Christopher Nolan has vision. He's often hailed as something akin to a modern day Stanley Kubrick, but that's a description that does no man any favours; Nolan might have the intentions of a Kubrick, but he's not as cerebral. Kubrick, on the other hand, would never have committed to a trilogy of superhero films. That's not to deride either director - more to show that the similarities are surface level. Nolan favours subversion; so many of his films - Memento, The Prestige, Insomnia - rely on twists and sleight of hand to drive their narratives. He gets a kick out of making you say: "Oh, I didn't see that coming." There is a playfulness to Nolan that is often undervalued. There's no doubting that Nolan, above all, wants to entertain audiences, though; he wants to wow them and offer up big, unforgettable images, and no movie in his canon is proof of this more than his recent sci-fi epic Interstellar (somewhat underrated upon release). Here was a director putting his soul on the line. "You want heart?" you could almost hear him saying - a responsible to criticisms of coldness that have targeted his filmography since day one. Still, nobody is making films in Hollywood like Christopher Nolan is - he's looking for art and blockbuster as one of the same, and you'll bet he keep on striving to reach his goal.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
