I hope to one day get to see Christopher Nolan's new action epic Tenet -- it looks amazing and I am big fan of the director's work. I get that some of his fanboys are a bit toxic and probably misinterpret a lot of his work -- but he is one of the most distinctive and ambitious big Hollywood directors working today and I appreciate his commitment to putting a real personal stamp on his films.
Still, there is a critique of Tenet already out there that while it's very entertaining and well-crafted its lacking an emotional core. Now, I haven't seen the film, so I can't judge whether the reviews are fair, but I have noticed this talking point emerging -- that Nolan's film and his films in general are too "cold."
It's true that his films tend to have a brooding disposition and eschew sentimentality. Two films buck that trend Interstellar, which takes great pains to pull on your heartstrings and Dunkirk, which does it a little more effortlessly. But yes, it's probably a fair assessment, and you know? It doesn't bother me.
We can't all be Steven Spielberg folks. You know who else was dinged constantly for being too clinical -- Stanley Kubrick -- who is widely (and rightly) considered to be one fo the greatest directors of all time. Now, his films are full of emotionally compelling moments, he just didn't tend to center his films on protagonists that you necessarily felt a lot of affection for. But that didn't make them any less compelling.
I don't know who decided that movies had to be relatable or have people you want to root for. They can be and often should be a bit more a cerebral exercise, and that's ok.
In much of his work, Nolan has shown a fascination with the physics of time -- this new film apparently plays with some kind of time travel conceit. It's all over Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk, even The Prestige. He's clearly interested in the mechanics of it and how fate can be determined by it. It's as worthy a topic as any I can think of and sometimes the ideas in a Nolan film (even if they don't always hold up to scrutiny) are the real stars of the story, not the characters.
That doesn't mean Nolan hasn't been able to get some great, engaged performances out of his actors. Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight, for instance, is justifiably legendary -- but it's also clear that he isn't a character-driven director.
I will admit sometimes that has been a detriment to his films. His portrayal of woman especially tends to leave a lot to be desired. They're not misogynist per se, they just tend to be (with a few notable exceptions) unwritten roles compared to their male counterparts.
Still, I admire how he keeps trying to top himself. I admire his fidelity to shooting on real film stock. I admire the fact that he tries to do his incredibly ambitious stunts for real, rather than relying entirely on CGI (the mid air kidnapping in The Dark Knight Rises remains one of the most impressive feats I've ever seen).
I would be curious to see him dip more of a toe outside the crime genre like he did with Dunkirk -- but I also don't expect him to ever make a rom com either. As long as he continues to mess with my brain, I have no problem with him failing to touch my heart.
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