Christopher Nolan‘s obsession with time is akin to a dog’s obsession with bones. They’ve commonly acknowledged truths about a single party seeking something for the rest of their lives.
Nolan is a Hollywood blockbuster director. His films are large, noisy, and difficult to see. It’s one of the things that makes him so admirable and ambitious. But I find it fascinating that he has spent his entire career preaching to us about how we spend our time.
Certainly, he works hard to ensure that the time we spend at the theatre is worthwhile. His stories, on the other hand, are about how we measure time, how we connect to it, and how time may be an advantage or a disadvantage depending on who controls it.
Why is Christopher Nolan so fixated on the passage of time?
I’m at a loss for words when it comes to Nolan’s infatuation. If I had to guess, I’d say he considers how limited our voices are on this planet. You may leave a legacy and build things that last beyond you, but you can’t change the length of time you have on this earth.
Let’s take a look at a couple of his films and how they deal with time.
Following
In Nolan’s film, the lesson of the story is “You take it away and show them what they had,” which is how a thief justifies his acts. We made a lot of time jumps in this film. To keep the audience engaged, jump to different portions of the tale.
“I decided to build my plot in such a way as to underline the audience’s inadequate knowledge of each new scene when it is initially shown,” Nolan remarked at the time. We don’t spend nearly enough time anyplace to pass judgment, preferring instead to be voyeurs—much like the film’s protagonist.
Memento
Inside Memento, the first overt use of time and time-bending occurred. This is a film that is told backward and forwards. We have flashbacks and flashforwards, which leave us guessing as to why things are falling apart in front of our eyes. The use of time by Nolan here is to demonstrate how little of it is guaranteed. It doesn’t imply you’ll get it right if you replay the same day or event again and over. Grace exists.
Interstellar
The next step into the literal was a film that showed how time both brings people together and separates them. This was about generations that never got to spend time together because they were so preoccupied with trying to make ends meet. We witness a woman grow up and outgrow her father while yet loving him enough to let him walk away at the end. Time is diverse, with the belief that the only thing that binds us together is love. However, this movie is so hard to swallow. If you want to know the ending and theme, check this interstellar explained article.
Batman: Trilogy
We may discuss time as a legacy when it comes to the Batman trilogy. Bruce didn’t get to spend much time with his parents, but the little he did receive made him resentful about their loss and determined to ensure that others didn’t have to go through what he experienced. As the films go, we witness a tale about Bruce’s time as Batman—will this chapter of his life ever come to an end? How much time can he spend pretending to be two people? In the end, it’s a film about leaving a legacy.
Inception
This is the first of the literal translations, and it is a film about time travel while sleeping. We have a lengthy explanation, but the plot stays simple: enter, retrieve a memory, and exit. We can understand how time might feel limitless in this scene. Especially when you find yourself in a situation you don’t want to be in. We consider time to be a period during which you may experience discomfort. The only way to get out of this period is to “wake up,” but what if you can’t?
Again, the solution is found over time. Time is only our perception of the world.
Nolan’s frequent time manipulations do both, presenting the most ubiquitous of subjects in bizarre and inconceivable ways – going backward, swiftly aging, or living for decades within a dream as barely minutes pass on the surface. This demonstrates Nolan’s notion that time and film are inextricably linked Read More
