Christopher Nolan is a legendary director. His films have grossed over $2 billion worldwide and he has racked up two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe award and two British Academy Film Awards. Here are the 6 best films in Nolan’s filmography.
- Memento
“Memento” is Nolan’s second film, and still one of his best. The plot is told in a non-linear format and follows the life of a man who suffers from short-term memory loss as he uses an elaborate system to keep track of what goes on in his life. The film shows the life of the man from two different points of his life. This unorthodox way of telling the story keeps audiences interested.
- The Prestige
“The Prestige” stars Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Scarlett Johansson. This is one of Nolan’s most underrated films. The plot follows the story of two magicians and their obsession to beat the other. Nolan highlights the themes of obsession and greed throughout the film. The final reveal will leave audiences shocked. Nolan’s storytelling shines through during “The Prestige”.
- Dunkirk
Nolan displays his versatility with his 2017 historical war film “Dunkirk”. Dunkirk follows the story of two different soldiers and a civilian during Operation Dynamo. Nolan builds up each plotline before switching to the next one and doing the same. This keeps the audience engaged and the story moving throughout. Nolan goes the extra mile and makes sure that each little detail about this depiction of World War 2 is historically accurate. This film placed the audience on the battlefield and shows the harsh realities of the soldiers. Nolan once again delivers with “Dunkirk”.
- Interstellar
Nolan dives into the sci-fi world with “Interstellar”. Starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, Nolan masterfully combines science with emotion. This movie follows the journey of Cooper and his mission to find a new habitable planet before it’s too late. McConaughey’s performance is one for the ages, most notably the scene when he returns from the ocean world. This performance combined with gorgeous visual effects and a simple, but thoughtful Hans Zimmer background score, make this one of Nolan’s best movies.
- The Dark Knight
Nolan steps into the superhero film space with “The Dark Knight”. Many argue that this is the greatest comic book movie of all time and they are not wrong. Christian Bale plays both Batman and Bruce Wayne to perfection and Heath Ledger delivers one of the greatest performances of all time as the Joker. Ledger went on to win a posthumous Oscar for his performance in this film. Nolan’s dialogues are the best in this movie with quotes that are mentioned to this day. With this film, Nolan proved that comic book movies can be more than just big action sequences.
- Inception
“Inception” stars the world-renowned Leonardo DiCaprio. This film follows the story of Dom Cobb and his team of “dream stealers”. His team is tasked with planting an idea in a tech company CEO’s head using dreams. Nolan makes a truly unique plot. With most of the story taking place in dreams, the visual effects are mind bending and they will make you want to pause the movie and just take it all in. This film moves at a blistering pace and has the audience guessing till the very end. The technical work and unique plot of this film make it Nolan’s best work to date.
Nolan has cemented himself as one of the greatest directors of our time. With films spanning across all genres, you can’t go wrong with a Nolan film.
