The Dark Knight Rises

12, 2012, Directed by Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman

When Christopher Nolan unveiled his incarnation of the caped crusader upon the unsuspecting world in 2005’s Batman Begins, it is doubtful that anybody – let’s craftily include Warner Bros in that – anticipated the extent to which Nolan’s talents would enthral the globe. The Dark Knight followed in 2008, resetting the precedent to a seemingly-insurmountable height (not solely due to the late Heath Ledger’s unforgettable Academy Award-winning turn as The Joker); and now The Dark Knight Rises, the final part of Nolan’s ‘planned’ trilogy of Batman films, providing closure on an epic scale to a series of films, that has already edged its way into the history books (record-breaking sales for the BFI Imax – days before release.) It may be easy to assume that this is going to be a showstopper...but the question remains, is it much cop?

Four words: Of course it is.

The beauty of the trilogy is that these have not merely been Batman films, but Chris Nolan films, a true filmmaker in the purest sense. This guy, in an industry progressively growing more obsessed with 3D, refreshingly sets out to craft standalone flicks as they were always meant to be seen. Not to say The Dark Knight Rises stands on its own two feet, mind; if Begins was the prologue that moulded Bruce Wayne into more than just a billionaire playboy that dons a batsuit, but something the past entries in the sparse Bat universe have somewhat lacked: a character, then The Dark Knight took Wayne’s ideals and, through The Joker, pushed them to the very edge of what he believed in most. This means Rises is the (164 minute) epilogue, profiling the conclusion to Bruce Wayne’s story, concluding where the previous left off but coming full circle also to tie up loose ends you never imagined required tying.

From the offset, the feeling of finality feels imminent with every new scene. This is helped largely, perhaps, by the big bad at the centre of the piece: Bane. Churning out dialogue behind a horrifying-looking mask that only Nolan would be brave enough to put on a central villain in the most anticipated film of the year, Tom Hardy does all that is needed using his voice over expression. Yes, it might be difficult to hear what he’s bleedin’ saying sometimes, but you can tell from the reactions of peripheral characters that it probably isn’t nice. And all the more reason for a re-watch, to catch what you might not have heard before. An element depicted to near-perfection here is the overwhelming danger surrounding Bruce Wayne; it is staggeringly difficult to recall the last film witnessed where you truly fear for the hero’s safety as unrelentingly as you do here. Bane is a monster, a monster that wants – and probably could – break the Batman. Here, an unstoppable force seriously does meet an immovable object.

Welcome returns from Michael Caine's loyal and emotionally-invested butler Alfred providing much of the film’s (at times) overwhelming emotion, an enlarged role for Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox (handed one of the film's best lines), not to mention Gary Oldman’s Commissioner Gordon, haunted by the lie he covered up to protect the name of Harvey Dent. But of the mix-bag of new characters introduced, the standout - and surprisingly, yet savvily most underused - is awarded to Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle. Crucially never once referred to as Catwoman, she is - as you’d expect from Nolan’s Gotham - grounded with a form of rationality, a feisty, charismatic thief who sets the screen alight and successfully saves the comic tone for when it is needed. But be under no allusion - this film is dark. Mention to Nolan-alumni Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as good, young cop John Blake) and Marion Cotillard (love and business interest, Miranda Tate) who both slot into proceedings well, regardless of fear of one too many new characters being introduced. These characters, at times, both aid Bruce in reminding him what his father taught him: why do we fall?

'So we can learn to pick ourselves up’. Or, in other words, Rise.

And when Bale’s Dark Knight Rises, he soars. The action is ramped up, with Nolan further proving he can shoot an on-location fistfight between a thousand extras as fluidly as he can shoot a conversation between two - without losing momentum, either. It is the merging of these two elements that have shaped these series of films into the phenomenon they are, with every viewer hanging on every word the brothers Nolan put into their script, co-written with David S. Goyer; Rises is an episode fans have been waiting on for four years.

When all is said and done, the trilogy's conclusion must sadly draw to its inevitable close before outstaying its welcome. Once the film's visually emotive and resonant final climax transpires in an ending (kind of) not dissimilar to that of Inception, with Hans Zimmer’s two-note Batman motif bursting from the speakers consequently leaving all hairs on the back of your neck on end – only then will it hit you with the force of Bane’s fist: Nolan has not only reinvented a franchise, but a genre – and with it, crafted what will endure as the defining trilogy of our generation.

5/5 

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Source Code

2011, 12, Directed by Duncan Jones
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffery Wright

Duncan Jones deserves recognition. Known at the time as ‘David Bowie’s son’, his 2009 debut Moon sent the science-fiction genre soaring sky-high after something of a lull. Not only that, but it was one of the most genuinely gripping and original offering of that year. Now he’s returned to earth, taking a script written by Ben Ripley and managing to acquire Sam Rockwell-standard from Mr. Jake Gyllenhaal himself. And being handed a bigger budget, cast and room to work with luckily hasn’t made Jones tone down on the confusion levels either. The plot sees Colter Stevens wake up on a train that explodes 8 minutes later. Only, Colter is part of a scheme that enables him to relive those 8 minutes time and time again so he can uncover the culprits behind the explosion. Think Groundhog Day meets Inception.

It goes without saying that Gyllenhaal – on-screen practically for the entire 94 minutes – convinces in what could have been an overtly serious role. Through his characterisation of Colter, he conveys confusion and fear of a man who knows he is about to be blown up (again) with a dash of charm and humour. These moments are most prominent when he shares the screen with Michelle Monaghan’s Christina. In short, the Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang star is a revelation. Repeatedly acting out pretty much the same scene in the same place is no mean feat, yet one that she consistently brings something new to through the charisma she exudes. She is a calming presence amidst the chaos. Knowing her inevitable fate on the doomed train aids Source Code in such a way that when Colter is adamant to discover if he can save her from an explosion that has already occurred, you understand his intentions. Vera Farmiga also delivers on a potential one-note performance as the officer who cannot tell Colter too much when he returns to the present.

With Source Code being a time-bending out-and-out science fiction offering, it is suffice to say that multiple viewings are required and will most probably enhance the experience. The film, like Moon, is gripping and original. However, unlike Jones’ debut, the climax – although hitting all the right notes – seems a tiny bit muddled for the sake of debate. This is only a minor flaw to what is a grand system. The film after all is what you make it; and I make it another boundary-pushing success for Jones. My money’s on David Bowie’s son making it a hat-trick.

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Oscar Nominee #7: The Social Network

May I introduce to you the second horse in this years race. The Social Network took a lot of people by surprise and is being seen as a generational, relevant film. Directed by David Fincher and scripted by Aaron Sorkin, everybody expected this to be good, but not great. But a great film it is and will no doubt be rewarded in some way this season (most obviously bagging Best Director for Fincher and Best Screenplay for Sorkin). Personally, this was the second-best film of 2010 for me, behind Inception. Simultaneously a Director's film and a performance film, with heavy bouts of dialogue (the opening scene featuring Jesse Eisenberg and Fincher's future-Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was shot 99 times), The Social Network has tough competition from The King's Speech. Whatever happens though, I doubt anybody saw a film about Facebook becoming such a sensation. This will no doubt endure as a cult classic; and one in which Justin Timberlake was actually pretty impressive.

Would it have been nominated before the 10-nomination rule?

Without a shadow of a doubt. I predicted The Social Network would emerge victorious before the nominations were even announced, and I kind of hope it does.

Rating out of 5: ●●●●●

Chances out of 5: ●●●●●

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Best Picture Nominee #3: Inception

 

I shall warn that when it comes to Christopher Nolan, I am just a little bit biased. In my eyes, he is the most talented filmmaker around today; his work is always insanely original (yes, even the Batman films) and his attention to detail is second to none. With that out the way, it’ll come as no surprise that I thought Inception was the best film of 2010 (one film came very close to rivaling it). Easily one of his best, it proved that blockbusters with huge-scale budgets like this can be intellectual and ridiculously rewarding. The only film that wasn’t a remake or a sequel in the top 10 highest grossing films of the year, for that alone Nolan deserved recognition from the Academy. But yet, even though nominated here and in the Best Original Screenplay category, he did not receive a nomination for his direction. Seems like some people are still prejudiced against summer blockbusters…

Would it have been nominated before the 10 nomination-rule?

In a word, no. In fact, it is quite rare that a film as big as this that was not directed by someone who has previously been Oscar nominated for Best Director gets a nomination in the first place (James Cameron got ultra-noms for Avatar due to Titanic). Inception is probably the most original offering in this years line-up, but I think its recognition is unfortunately a case of the Academy attempting to appeal to a mainstream audience – still it is nice that it has been nominated. It is strongly rumoured that the 10-nomination rule was brought about due to The Dark Knight being overlooked in 2009, but if you ask me all of Christopher Nolan''s previous films have been robbed of a nomination. However, people who liked Inception loved it a lot, so if enough members of the Academy praised Nolan's modern classic, then there could be a big (welcome) surprise on 27^th February. Then again, probably not

Rating out of 5: ●●●●●

Chances out of 5: ●●●●●

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His Mind Is the Scene of His Genius: Christopher Nolan

 

Hitchcock, Kubrick, Scorsese, Spielberg, Tarantino: these are all filmmakers of the ages; filmmakers whose features are defined by who made them, as opposed to being billed as the latest in the long line of sequels or a fresh Johnny Depp cash-in. Some might say this is becoming more and more of a rarity as the film industry continually progresses – or plummets, if you will - into the age of ‘celebrity’. Half an hour into The Dark Knight, the stratospheric successful sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins, and it shines through that this is the work of a true craftsman, converting a landscape straight from Michael Mann’s Heat to a modern day Gotham City. Only, this craftsman does not go by the name of Scorsese, Spielberg or even Tarantino… but Nolan. Christopher Nolan, to be precise.

Scouring your eyes over the highest selling films of 2010, something might occur to you. Of course, you would be forgiven if you noticed that nine features out of the top ten were either: A – an animation, B – a sequel, or C – a remake. You would also be forgiven for thinking that the fourth highest selling film slotted into one of these categories, or was at least ‘adapted from the novel of the same name’. Well, do not make the same mistake again: Inception – which has just hit shelves on DVD and Blu-ray - was all Christopher Nolan. It is for this very reason why it is becoming increasingly more probable that Nolan has become the filmmaker of a generation. Namely, our generation. First hitting the big-time with the mind-boggling, genre-shifting – and arguably greatest film of the noughties - Memento in 2000, he has managed to convince that boggling minds and shifting conventions is merely a hobby. Of course, a natural move from an independent thriller that shreds the film rule book into a million pieces and a remake of a Norwegian film that stars Robin Williams as a serial killer is a reinvention of the hugely popular Batman franchise, which single-handedly butchered Joel Schumacher’s career back in the nineties. A brave step forward? A stupid step backwards? Batman Begins solidified the proof that Christopher’s abilities as filmmaker were second to none. Gone were the darkly comic days of Burton’s Gotham – here, just psychological darkness prevailed. In a summer dominated by The 40-Year-Old Virgin’s and Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s of the film world, Begins planted a seed that everybody yearned for. By the time The Dark Knight flew onto screens, the seed blossomed into the seventh highest grossing film of all time.

Memento:
“Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the colour of a car. They’re just an interpretation…"

Citing Kubrick as a major influence, if Chris Nolan ever took the time to sit and reflect upon his career thus far, it would be fairly easy to draw comparisons to the renowned director’s filmography; Stanley’s first features were all about establishing himself, before hitting the film universe with a true classic. Followed by another. Then another. Notice a sequence here? One could claim that The Dark Knight is Nolan’s Spartacus. Okay, it is not set around the time of the Roman Empire, but said Empire could represent the force that The Joker effuses, with Bruce Wayne depicting a modern day Kirk Douglas in leading a revolt that often results in violence. If that was a shaky analogy, I am sure it could be agreed that Inception is most certainly Chris’ 2001; pushing boundaries, genuine originality – as Ellen Page’s Ariadne puts it in Chris’ latest, ‘pure creation’.

However, the striking similarity between the two runs far deeper than what is on the surface; they primarily lend focus to a protagonist’s state of mind. In Nolan’s case, this is what he hinges his films upon. Leonard Shelby has memory loss; Will Dormer has insomnia; The Joker lacks empathy. He moulds his features based on whichever dysfunction a protagonist suffers from. This could just well be the secret of his success. Without this emphasis placed on the human mind, where would the justification of extreme use of non-linear narrative be? There is a reason for the technique to be used, and used perfectly. The man himself once commented that the reason he directs is due to narrative freedom. ‘Authors had enjoyed (narrative freedoms) for centuries and it seemed to me that filmmakers should enjoy those freedoms as well’. Thanks to Nolan’s efforts, flocking sheep can enjoy these freedoms too.

Batman Begins:

 “You must become more than just a man in the mind of your opponent”

Alas, whereas Stanley’s trademark aspect ratio, recognisable tracking shots and colourful credit sequences are contemporarily deemed Kubrickian, Nolan’s trademarks are more… well, original to him. To begin in an apt place, almost all of his films begin with a close-up of a character’s hands performing an action; whether this is Guy Pearce’s troubled Leonard Shelby holding a photograph of the man he just killed (in reverse, obviously), or the legendary Michael Caine performing an astonishing magic trick. Most noticeably, said scene is a vital moment that, due to the tweaked narrative, takes place later on in the film – and offers a revelation, slotting a giant chunk of the jigsaw into place. Ultimately, this causes Nolan’s back catalogue to require repeat viewings (I dare anybody to say they got everything they needed from Inception after their initial viewing), and ensure you are empowered to watch over a third time when you unveil yet another shrouded mystery. It’s official: Chris Nolan films are the LOST of the movie universe.

You might wonder how a film that starts with the final scene manages to clutch your attention in its fist, build momentum and cause tension; but due to Chris’ skilled honing in on the human elements of these characters, the intricate nature of the structure and regular Director of Photography Wally Pfister’s blindingly beautiful cinematography, Memento is arguably one of the most original offerings of the past 15 years; and Nolan somehow threw a gasp-inducing twist into the fore. That’s talent. The Prestige is the filmic equivalent of a magic trick, the rug pulled from your feet in the third act, forcing you to marvel and to wonder how he did it. Like all talented directors, Chris could have snatched at the commercial carrot and ensured his fresh take on the Batman franchise was a family-friendly, safe success-guaranteed throwaway. In staying loyal to his fanatical flair and talent, he not only sustained his passengers, he picked up an inane amount of hitchhikers to join him on his journey (If the quality of next instalment The Dark Knight Rises is anywhere as high as Begins or its sequel, there’ll be deafening shouts of ‘Greatest Trilogy’). Arguably, the only recent film that matches the immersive, awe-inspiring visual of Inception is James Cameron’s Avatar – in which he was aided by 3D and a budget to create new technology. Reconstructing landscapes; zero-gravity fight scenes; crumbling structures: Inception is the ultimate lucid dream and one in which you don’t have to put glasses on to obtain what you require.

The Prestige:

“Now you’re looking for the secret. But you won’t find it because of course, you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to work it out. You want to be fooled”

Then there’s the performance he draws from his actors: whether it’s regulars (Michael Caine, Christian Bale, Cillian Murphy) or one-timers (Guy Pearce, Heath Ledger, Leo DiCaprio), you can simply sense the performer’s innate trust in their director. He steers his cast to the top of their game, straight into career-best territory and, in the late Heath Ledger’s case, award glory. If there were a tree planted for every time a performer tells an interviewer that they would love to work with their director again without meaning it, the world would be a crowded place. However, it shines through clearly that when Nolan is on the lips, they mean every word; not only has he become a desirable object for the head honchos, he’s a must for the Hollywood heavyweights. Gary Oldman, who stars in the Batman films as fan-favourite ‘Commissionerrrrrr’ Jim Gordon, shared his thoughts on working with the man himself: ‘He doesn’t feel he has to justify he’s the Director of this big movie. And a great Director knows when not to say something. He’s just a wonderful filmmaker – he gets the job done.’ Chris likes to keep it in the family (his main producer is wife Emma Thomas and fellow screenwriter Jonathan Nolan is his brother), but the cast he uses seem to become his family also, as evidenced by the praise he could drown in. Additionally, and somewhat crucially, it is of utmost important to note that out of every Chris Nolan film so far, he has screen-written all but one. In an age that places emphasis on the work of the director, the screenwriter will remain the unsung hero of a film. Granted, 2010’s The Social Network was not only billed as ‘the film about Facebook as seen by Fincher’, but also ‘written by Aaron Sorkin’, famed for TV powerhouse The West Wing. But for a summer blockbuster to be written by their director – that is anything but typical. But ever the boundary-pusher, Chris puts pen to paper as well as print to screen; he’s just that dedicated (the daddy of the blockbuster, Steven Spielberg, has only taken the sole writing credit on 3 of his 26 films). For somebody who created the ingenious idea, wrote all by himself and directed Inception surely makes you wonder whether the plot is actually fact, and inception had been used successfully on Nolan himself.

The Dark Knight:

“Madness, as you know, is like gravity; all it takes is a little… push”

Seven features down, another in the pipeline and producing and ‘overseeing’ rights on Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot (after Bryan Singer’s underwhelming attempt tanked at the box office). It is clear studios and fellow peers have a lot of faith in Mr. Nolan, and as I’m sure you will surmise, the faith is whole-heartedly warranted (5 out of 7 films all feature in IMDB's Top 100). Whispers of ridiculously overdue Oscar recognition have gradually snowballed into shouts. It is famously rumoured that he has already made his mark on the Academy’s history for the recently extended list of Best Picture nominees was done so due to The Dark Knight not being on the shortlist. Chris Nolan may be making films for a wider-spread audience than ever before, but not once has fear of commercial cash in presented itself. Writer, producer, director – and an honest-to-goodness nice guy; Nolan’s name can easily slip next to the legendary likes of Hitchcock, Kubrick, Scorsese, Spielberg and Tarantino and now be instantly recognisable.

Inception:

“Dreams feel real while we’re in them; it’s only when we wake up that we realise something was actually strange”

Christopher Nolan, it seems, isn’t just the go-to man; he’s the man.
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