Spielberg, Scorsese, Eastwood, Scott, Howard...... All big names in the directing game, and arguably the five currently at the top of the active class. Tarantino, Fincher, Del Toro, Mann, and Snyder come to mind as well. Some would say Woody Allen, and those people would be wrong. But even with all those great names listed, I have to ask, is Christopher Nolan currently the best working director? Hear me out before you dismiss it. Nolan is currently shooting his 8th full length feature film, The Dark Knight Rises, and reportedly it will be his last outing involving the Caped Crusader. His first, Following, was shot for little to no budget and really does not apply to his total filmography. But from there on out he has been on fire, here is a breakdown of the next 6 films he would go on to direct and the Ninja Stars I gave it:
Memento: The most inventive film of its year, the story is told in fragmented fashion going from end to beginning, and tells the story of a man with no memory of what led to a murder. The audience learns along with the protagonist. Very few directors could have made Memento work and work in a sensible way, but Nolan did. 9 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Insomnia: The only of his 8 films that he did not get a writing credit for, but a great film none the less. A traditional murder mystery with two twists, A) the setting is a town in Alaska during a period of round the clock daylight, and B) our hero, played by Al Pacino, accidentally shoots his partner in the beginning, and it just so happens that his partner was about to testify against him for corruption.The film is deep and layered and gets great performance from Pacino and Robin Williams cast against type as a killer, in addition it really put Hilary Swank's career into drive. 8 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Batman Begins: After the debacle of Batman & Robin, it seemed the Batman franchise was dead and gone, but instead Nolan brought it back in dark and Gothic fashion, he brought a sense of realism to the story, and while The Dark Knight gets all the credit, Batman Begins is a near perfect Batman film. Nolan took fantastical villains Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) and Ras Al Ghul (Liam Neeson and Ken Watanbe) and made them believably twisted. 10 Ninja Stars out of 10.
The Prestige: A personal favorite, the story of two magicians (Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman) who start as partners but end as rivals. There are very few films that came out in the 2000's that have been as intelligent as The Prestige. 10 Ninja Stars out of 10.
The Dark Knight: Many consider it to be Nolan's crown jewel. A perfect super hero film, the best in a genre that has saturated the market since Blade was released in 1998. Once again grounded Batman's mythology in dark and gritty realism with a new take on the Joker (Heath Ledger) and Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart). We have this film to thank for the Oscars expanded best picture nominee format, as the Academy knew they would have a revolution on their hands if a film as perfect as The Dark Knight was ever ignored again.10 Ninja Stars out of 10.
Inception: Nolan continued his stretch of following a Batman film with a stunningly original one of his own, and Inception broke boundaries and will do for Sci-Fi and Action films what The Matrix did for....Sci-Fi and Action films. The film's backdrop is as difficult to explain (and to film) as Memento's, but Nolan still knocked it out of the park. 10 Ninja Stars out of 10.
When The Dark Knight Rises is released next year we will see if Nolan can break the curse of the super hero trilogy the way Sam Raimi, Brett Ratner, and David S. Goyer were unable to do. If there is one guy who can do it, its him. Myself and Diomedes use a five film scale to determine and elite director, and the first five I listed at the top of this post are the only active directors to make the cut of having at least 5 elite films. But now Nolan has joined that list, and with some of the lows Ridley Scott and Ron Howard have had between their elite films, as well as the mediocre turn Clint Eastwood's directorial career has taken since he got to five, its possible Nolan is in the top three. When all is said and done, can Nolan possibly keep this streak alive and continue throwing perfect games? We will have to see, but for now, he has put himself squarely in the upper echelon of filmmakers working today.
-Maximus
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