The Ultimate Christopher Nolan Analysis: Interstellar, Dunkirk & Tenet

Want to hear my first thoughts (and those of Thomas Flight) on Oppenheimer? Be sure to follow our podcast Cinema of Meaning on Nebula, where we are now doing a special series on Nuclear Cinema: nebula.tv/watchcinemaofmeaning Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: go.nebula.tv/lsoo

The docking scene in IMAX is and forever will be the greatest experience I've ever had in a movie theatre.

Murph goes back to the room not because of a hunch. It is because she finally accepts the loss of her father. She was 'angry' at first, because of the lie. Then she meets her brother at dinner, 'the mourning'. The siblings fight because in the absence of a parent/elder, 'the bargaining'. She gives away all of belongings, 'the depression', and finally 'acceptance' in disguised as 'denial' when she goes back to find one last clue but not to find her father, she is past that now, but to save the planet and complete the equation.

Love is at the root of everything. All learning, all parenting, all relationships. Love or the lack of it. -Fred Rogers

I think the "punctuation problem" is one of many of Nolan's tricks to create a sense of discovery when you watch his works multiple times. Hence, make it exciting to do so. He mentions in an interview that his generation of filmmakers realized that their movies would be watched several times. So they had to come up with ways to make them interesting to watch several times.

Interstellar is one of my favourite films of all time, my personal favourite of Nolan’s. I think it hit me at a very emotionally charged moment in my life and the themes and philosophical questions in it have remained significant to me since. It inspired me to write and to ponder ideas in depth and channel the answers creatively. It means a lot to me.

Interstellar has its issues for me, but I still connect with it on a very emotional level and love the massive spectacle that Noaln was able to pull off. Also experiencing it in IMAX really makes any issues leave your brain immediately. That's the only way I've seen it in theaters.

terrific analysis. And, yep, even though I'm a super film nerd, I'm proud to say I think Interstellar is one of the greatest films ever made; profound, exhilarating, and incredibly moving . As it ages, I think people are coming around to this opinion - but we're in an age where earnestness is frowned upon as embarrassing, and talking directly about wonder and love is a social faux pas in art. We'll get by that, though, and films like this will be seen for the genuine, real feeling they represent.

Certainly after Tenet, I'm pleased by all the positive hype that Oppenheimer is getting from the interviews I've seen so far on YouTube. Thank you, Tom, for this analysis.

love how Christopher Nolan agrees to make a film length music video for Hanz Zimmer compositions.

I feel like the Tenet chapter was a gross misunderstanding of the characters' motivations and the nuanced spy flick vibes that Nolan intended. The first act (before the Freeport scene) cleverly disguises Tenet as your regular spy film with assists (Neil, Priya & Sir Michael Crosby), a heist (the Mumbai arms dealer break-in) and generally cool spy stuff (assuming a cover identity as a wind turbine technician; fake CIA-issued cyanide pills) to generally immerse the audience before he allows things to go absolutely off the rails. Even with the motivations for breaking into the Freeport, there's such a deep conversation he has with Kat (with a classic Nolan flashback montage interspersed) about her envying the freedom of her future self diving off the boat. In regards to Sator, we obviously know that despite his diabolical deals with the future, he very much wants Kat to wanna be with her and as such, would be willing to both manipulate her into staying before using brute violence to keep her around. The beauty of Tenet is literally right there but people keep entering the experience trying to decipher it so much that they end up closing themselves off to the very real emotionality of the film.

I cannot wait to see this Oppenheimer. I almost feel the same about a LSofO upload. You have something special. My mother, a casual movie goer, loved Interstellar and it's probably my least favorite Nolan film but after this I am definitely giving it another go. Stories are so human and film is such a beautiful way of telling them and you have a beautiful way of reminding me about how special they are to me. Great work as always friend, thank you.

Interstellar is also one of the best IMAX experiences that I've had. Which is interesting because it was the last Nolan film that I truly enjoyed. Both Dunkirk and Tenet just didn't land for me and not being able to hear the dialogue properly was frustrating.

T E N E T is more of a vibe, honestly. “Don’t try to understand it, feel it” (which is obliviously directed at the audience) and it’s not the first time in a movie when a actor says something that is being directed at the audience. Another example being from the movie Looper when Abe tells Joe “All this time travel stuff just will fry your brain” and I think some over looked that because they were too busy saying it was plot holes or the time travel didn’t make sense.

Love this essay and your balanced view of Nolan's work; not a fanboy nor a critic, but a balanced view of his filmography and a larger discussion of the way he tells stories.

I'll be watching this tonight but just wanted to pop in and say this series of yours is amazing, wonderful work. Thank you so much!

This was such a good series! I always love when you come out with content, but especially with these last two videos, when I have gotten the notifications, they have brought me much joy and excitement. I love the depth with which you documented and analyzed Nolan's movies - certainly no surprise, given the quality and finesse of your more "regular" work. But I think I just really enjoyed staying with one of my favorite directors through the thoughts and words of one of the most well-spoken people on this platform. I would love to see more even-longer-form stuff like this, if ever you feel so inspired. Thanks for always making quality works, and thank you for always managing to remind me, through excitement or sobriety or tears, the beauty of what it is to be human, and our capacity for creativity and love. Thanks for all you do. :)

Thanks for this excellent series. It's a very impressive feat: thorough analysis, truthful reviews, seamless editing. I was never much of a Nolan fan, but this is inspiring me to watch/rewatch all of them.

I have loved tenet ever since it came out despite not understanding half of it and I have only grown to love it even more. I hope Nolan makes more films like it. It’s bold and a fantastic experience. I’ve had tenet playing on the tv non stop at home for like 2 weeks now as I wait to see Oppenheimer and I just appreciate the heck out of it. The ending when sator is on the phone and talks about being a god and bringing a son into a world that’s ending mixed with Neil’s sacrifice is what does it for me

as a collective (partial) filmography, the breakdown of “Interstellar” is the most incredibly fascinating, objective examination & dissection of “Interstellar” that truly made me take a pause to “rethink” my already positive views on the movie! very impressed, thank you!