I’ll preface this list by pointing out that all Nolan films are great. But, to paraphrase ‘Animal Farm’, some Nolan films are greater than others.
1 The Dark Knight
Not a very original choice, I know, but it’s a movie that’s been imitated and never bettered. It heralded the arrival of countless superhero movies that became obsessed with the ‘dark’ aesthetic, usually prioritising style over characterisation. Nolan blends both elements to create a masterful vision that transcends traditional superhero cliches and blends more comfortably into the crime noir genre. Heath Ledger’s performance is unforgettable, and the film contains some of the finest uses of silence I’ve ever witnessed on film. And sound, for that matter. It contains the only two moments where I’ve been properly jump scared in a movie theatre. Characters die (and stay dead, which is a pretty refreshing concept in light of the various superhero films that followed) and the bad guy wins. Majestic. Also, I watched it at the cinema back in the day six times, and every time was worth it.
2 Oppenheimer
Cillian Murphy’s magnum opus. It’s amazing that this is the first time that Murphy has been cast in the main role of a Nolan joint considering how many times he’s been cast before, but he knocks it out of the park as the tortured father of the atomic bomb. It’s an epic film that’s mostly centred around dialogue, but Nolan, in typical Nolan fashion, manages to keep the whole narrative electrifying throughout the entire running time. Murphy is particularly fantastic in moments of silence, articulating guilt, angst and despair in a single facial expression. All the surrounding stellar cast give it their all too, with Robert Downey Jr particularly standing out as the embittered Louis Strauss. Nolan’s use of black and white film renders everyone’s favourite Iron Man into a figure of menace and fury. The editing is pristine throughout, conveying rising tension and unease with sharp cuts and outstanding visuals. Shoutout to the stellar soundtrack too, with Ludwig Goransson’s poignant ‘Destroyer of ‘Worlds’ acting as a sonic echo to Tenet’s moving track ‘Betrayal’. Seeing this one for the third time today, so not as many cine-viewings as The Dark Knight. Yet.
3 Inception
BRRRAAAAM. Yes, that one. Hans Zimmer regretted bringing that noise into the cinema sphere which subsequently littered the noise throughout trailers trying to add an element of melodrama, but it’s nonetheless used powerfully here. Nolan’s time bending shenanigans are on top form as the mind heist takes place and shiz goes down. Hot take: DiCaprio ain’t that great in this role, but it’s the side players like Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard and Elliot Page who create the engaging, emotional core. Murphy is also brilliant as the troubled son and potential inheritor of an empire. The final scene between Robert Fischer and his father is full of poignancy and heart, serving as the film’s emotional crescendo as the dream world begins to break apart. And you can’t forget that final sting with the totem. Nolan won’t explain the ending, leaving the audience to endlessly theorise and speculate. Watched numerous times at the cinema, but I can’t remember the precise number.
4 Memento
The film that made Nolan a critical darling is one of his absolute finest, and his timey-wimey tricks are on full display as Guy Pearce’s Leonard Shelby attempts to solve the murder of his wife. It’s a crime drama, but it’s so much more.
5 The Dark Knight Rises
Probably the film I’ve been most hyped for in my life so far. So hyped that I went to an IMAX showing of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol purely to see the six-minute teaser trailer that played before. Sure, Tom Hardy’s villain was never going to eclipse Ledger’s Joker, but it’s a great film nonetheless.
6 Interstellar
Contains one of Hans Zimmer’s all-time greatest soundtracks, and an impressive cast to boot. It’s difficult getting used to McConaughey as the central protagonist after seeing so much of Bale in the Batman trilogy and The Prestige, but the central father and daughter relationship gives the film a powerful emotional heft.
7 Batman Begins
Watched this again recently and definitely saw the constrictions that studios put on Nolan at the time. Katie Holmes’ Rachel is weak and Tom Wilkinson’s accent is all over the place, but it’s still a great start to the trilogy, with a standout performance from Cillian Murphy.
8 The Prestige
Lots of magical trickery and fun. It marked the first appearance of Nolan’s soon-to-be-regular Michael Caine and even featured a cameo of The Thin White Duke himself as Nikola Tesla. It hasn’t quite got the Nolan signature going full throttle yet, but it’s an engrossing twisty thriller nonetheless.
9 Dunkirk
This placing might be a bit controversial, and I’m still not 100% sure on it. While technically brilliant, and perhaps Nolan’s most technically brilliant film to date, it left me slightly cold in terms of character development. Maybe character development wasn’t the primary intention, but it didn’t quite hit in the same way as previous Nolan joints. I can’t deny the genius use of silence in that tremendous opening scene though.
10 Tenet
I never thought a Nolan film could confuse me more than Inception, but Tenet proved me wrong. While Inception was backed up with a strong emotional heart mostly thanks to Murphy and Cotillard as well as an intriguing plot, it’s difficult to get a grasp on character motivation in Tenet in-between all the time trickery stuff. I did love Kenneth Branagh’s dodgy Russian accent, and the soundtrack is typically brilliant.
11 Insomnia
I’ve only watched Insomnia once and it didn’t make a huge impression compared to other Nolan films, although I do remember strong central performances from Al Pacino and Hillary Swank. It just felt like a slightly more standard thriller stripped of the timey-wimey elements that made Nolan’s later works so compelling, even though it engaged in similar memory trickery ideas to Memento.