Rarely do we see a Christopher Nolan film that’s just “typical.” Whether you’re in a film that’s presented backwards, in a film that takes place in the dreams of others, or in a film that takes you into the far reaches of space, Nolan has always found ways to indulge your creativity and stimulate your curiosity.
Every Nolan feature is also contractually obligated to have that one scene (or collection of scenes) that remains freshly stamped into your consciousness hours, days, or even weeks after you leave the theater. Some are full scenes or sequences, and some are merely moments, but if you can’t stop thinking about them, then the director has done his job.
A number of these scenes are available on YouTube, so without further ado, let’s take the next 30 minutes or so to bask in the best of Christopher Nolan.
10) ‘Memento’ – I’m chasing this guy
In this mind-boggling puzzle of a film, we follow Leonard as he picks up the pieces of his memory after his wife’s murder. The attack left him with a damaged hippocampus, meaning that he can never remember anything for more than a few minutes. The film is cut into segments and presented backwards, meaning that the audience never really knows what’s going on when each scene begins.
As this scene illustrates, neither does Leonard.
9) ‘Insomnia’ – Log Scene
Oh my God. If you’ve never seen this scene or this movie, please take a second to watch the video above. Okay, did you involuntarily stop breathing and start freaking out like we did?
Not a lot of people remember Insomnia for exactly what it was: a tense, rich, Hitchockian thriller with some of the greatest actors in film history. The scene above perfectly illustrates how Nolan takes the mundane and twists it to make it seem lifelike, and yet deadly. This scene makes it on to the list for being such a frequent guest star in my nightmares.
8) ‘The Dark Knight’ – Bank Heist
I remember lining up for a midnight showing for some movie called I Am Legend at a theater in Ontario when I was 18. I didn’t care about the movie, what I cared about was the sneak peek at The Dark Knight that would run before it. It turned out the midnight showing was sold out, so my friends and I waited an additional three hours to catch the footage at 3 a.m.
All I remember was that it was absolutely worth it.
The action was pulse-pounding, the ultimate joke of the last man standing was a perfect way to introduce the villain, and the logistics going into the actual robbery were enough to make me reconsider Christopher Nolan’s past. Where did he get that $7,000 budget for Following anyway?
7) ‘The Prestige’ – Jail Trick
This is the only scene on this list for The Prestige, and although there’s plenty of grim and brilliant moments throughout the film’s running time (including the ending scene, which I really wanted to include), this is always the moment that comes to mind for me.
This macabre magician versus magician tale has no lack of twists and turns, but it’s the actual tricks that keep the magic alive in this film. In theaters, this scene almost completely changes what the viewer thinks they know about the magic in this universe. It isn’t until later when they buy the DVD does the viewer realize that Alfred drops his ball suspiciously close to the guard’s key ring.
6) ‘The Dark Knight’ – Kill the Batman
Yes, this is the second Dark Knight scene on here. No, it’s not the last. Shut up.
Although the Bank Heist scene functions as the audience’s first introduction to the clown prince of crime, this was the first time we really got to see Heath Ledger lavish in his performance. His intonation makes every single line an instantly quotable classic, and his spectacular finish (“let’s not BLOW this out of proportion”) rings perfectly authentic to the archetype of The Joker that we’ve come to love through the comics and the animated series.
And man, I just can’t get that pencil trick out of my head.
5) ‘Inception’ – You’re waiting for a train…
As the emotional core of Inception, Mal’s story is a complicated tale to tell. After we find out about that critical moment in their honeymoon suite (jeez, how is that scene not on here?), it can be easy to see her as just some crazy villainess.
This movie is known for being heavy on back-end exposition, but it does so in the best way possible. By showing us how Cobb manipulated his wife, we can see how his guilt gave birth to this dream dominating force. As far as movie villains go, you really can’t get more complex than your own guilty subconscious getting back at you for making your wife go crazy.
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