Few names create as intense feelings of excitement and anticipation as filmmaker Christopher Nolan, who has dominated the cinematic landscape of the 21st century with his complex and deeply impressive body of works. Ever since the release of his 2nd (and what some consider to be his best) film Memento in 2000, Nolan has been the leading auteur in Hollywood for constructing films that challenge audiences on an intellectual level, with films like aforementioned Memento, the magician drama The Prestige, and the wildly popular Inception, which is easily one of the most talked about films of the last 10 years. But he’s also capable of delivering immensely satisfying blockbuster entertainment that simultaneously plays as rich, Shakespearian level dramas. Of course, I’m referring to Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, namely the 2nd film in the trilogy, The Dark Knight, which is viewed as the absolute gold standard for comic book films and effortlessly transcended the genre, functioning more as an epic crime saga then a superhero pic. Nolan has made a larger and more lasting footprint within cinematic history in his 9 film career than most filmmakers manage to do with 20+ films.
He continues to challenge himself with every film, not just in terms of storytelling, but mainly in terms of scope and scale. In fact, he’s probably the only director in Hollywood who studios willingly grant a nearly $150 million budget to for an original film, not just his Batman pictures. And people REALLY want to see his movies. The hype that surrounded his last two Batman films and Inception leading up to their releases was downright ridiculous, and the fact that Nolan has consistently delivered finished products that met or exceeded these expectations shows how smart and intuitive he is, and that he wants to make sure that he doesn’t disappoint his outspoken and ever-growing fan base. So, with that background information in mind it’s safe to say that the hype train surrounding Nolan’s latest release Interstellar was vocal, to say the least. Interstellar looked poised to be the biggest and most expansive film of Nolan’s career, as the film deals with traveling through wormholes that transport a crew of astronauts to different galaxies and beyond. The hype was only increased with the release of three electrifying trailers, each one slowly elaborating on the tone and feel of the picture, whilst giving away very little in regard to actual plot and story. As the November 7th release date approached, anticipation rose to an almost unrealistic level, as the last four films Nolan released have similarly achieved. And now that the film has been out for an almost a month now and the hype has subsided we can discuss Nolan’s highly ambitious space epic in a reasonable and fair manner.
Interstellar, as a matter of fact, received the most divisive reactions of Nolan’s career. Interstellar might be the most polarizing film of 2014, some praising the space opera as one of the landmark films in the science fiction genre, others calling it an illogical, self-important mess with an onslaught of over-sentimentality. Whatever your opinions on the film, though, you can’t deny its unparalleled ambition. The movie is by far in a way the biggest thing Nolan has ever done, and there are several sequences where the sheer majesty of the intergalactic images literally take your breath away, especially if you choose to see the film in IMAX or on 35mm film. Nolan continues to push the medium of film with each new entry into his prestigious canon, and Interstellar’s visual effects alone are groundbreaking, as it was revealed many of the gorgeous images of wormholes and black holes were constructed with little to no CGI. While watching the film, you recognize how special a filmmaker Nolan truly is, as he consistently takes his audiences to place we’ve never been, showing us something we’ve never seen before which is what more films nowadays should be doing. Furthermore, in Interstellar (similar to Inception and The Prestige) he trusts the intelligence of his audience and assumes that they will pay attention and understand the complicated plot details he throws their way. And while Interstellar, at times, gets a bit too complicated for its own good, it’s amazing and incredibly rare to see a filmmaker who NEVER dumbs down material for audience, simply assuming that they are as smart as he is. Interstellar has also garnered immense discussion among the movie-going public, and not just Nolan fanboys. This is a film where, the moment it ends, you NEED to talk about. Nolan has never made a film that you can just leave at the theater, and Interstellar might be Nolan’s most debated and discussed film to date because it has so many grand ideas about life, love, loss and sacrifice, all surrounded by a gorgeous and complex sci-fi backdrop. And Interstellar (an original film, keep in mind) is making its money back, let me tell you, which is a good thing since this movie DEMANDS to be seen on the biggest screen possible. It pains to imagine someone trying to watch Interstellar on a smart phone. I positively shudder at the fact.
So even though reaction to the film was indeed mixed, will the studio still give Nolan as a massive amount of money and full creative control on his next project? Absolutely. And will people go and see the film no matter what it’s about? You bet. Nolan is, truthfully, the sole “event” filmmaker of our day and we will continue to support, and should, if he gives coming up with innovative and entertaining to progress the art form that is film.
I just hope that his next film is a little smaller in scale than Interstellar since, well, you can’t really get bigger than space. Maybe a small, intimate romantic comedy with characters that are incredibly optimistic and happy? Probably not, but I am unimaginably curious to see what Nolan does next.
Cameron Chang is a staff writer and Pulse Magazine’s in-house film aficionado.