You know you’re in for a mind-bending experience when you sit down to watch a Christopher Nolan film. The acclaimed director is known for crafting intricate stories that keep you guessing until the very end. Whether it’s manipulating time, exploring the depths of the human psyche, or pondering humanity’s biggest questions, Nolan’s films always leave a lasting impact.
His movies have grossed over $4.7 billion at the box office, but Nolan is an auteur concerned more with the art of storytelling than commercial success. As one of the most influential filmmakers working today, Nolan’s films deserve to be revisited again and again. Here are the 10 best films from the mind of this master storyteller. Strap in, things are about to get twisty.
Inception (2010)
Inception is a mind-bending sci-fi action film that explores the concept of shared dreaming and the extraction of information from invading the subconscious. This imaginative concept is brought to life with stunning visuals and effects as Cobb and his team manipulate the dream within a dream.
Cobb is an expert in the art of “extraction”—stealing secrets from people’s minds while they dream. His skill has made him a wanted man, and after being offered a chance to return home to his children, Cobb must complete one last job: “inception”, the implantation of another person’s idea into a target’s subconscious.
The Dark Knight (2008)
The Dark Knight is not just the best superhero film ever made, it’s one of the greatest films in any genre. In his second Batman film, Christopher Nolan created a dark, gritty, and philosophical crime epic set in a post-9/11 world grappling with moral ambiguity and escalating threats of chaos.
Led by Heath Ledger’s legendary and unsettling performance as the Joker, The Dark Knight dives deep into the psychological realm. The Joker is an agent of chaos, a sinister and frightening villain who wants nothing more than to prove that anyone is capable of descending into madness and that moral order will collapse under pressure.
Memento (2000)
Memento is a mind-bending neo-noir psychological thriller that put Christopher Nolan on the map as a visionary filmmaker. Released in 2000, it remains one of his most creative and cunning films.
Memento follows Leonard Shelby, an insurance investigator trying to find his wife’s murderer. The catch? Leonard suffers from anterograde amnesia, meaning he can’t form new memories. He relies on notes, photos, and tattoos to piece together clues from his investigation. The story is told in reverse chronological order to mimic Leonard’s fractured memory and disorient the viewer.
Interstellar (2014)
Interstellar is an epic science fiction film from 2014, directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Set in a dystopian future where humanity is struggling with famine and drought, the movie follows a group of astronauts, scientists and engineers who travel into a wormhole in search of habitable planets.
Interstellar is an ambitious, thought-provoking film that explores humanity’s desire for discovery and connection. It tackles mind-bending concepts of time, space and dimensions in a way that is complex yet emotionally grounded. The visuals are stunning, especially scenes filmed in IMAX, and the soundtrack from Hans Zimmer is appropriatelty epic and moving.
Dunkirk (2017)
Christopher Nolan’s war epic Dunkirk is a cinematic masterpiece. Released in 2017, this historical drama recounts the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk, France during World War II.
The cinematography in this film is breathtaking. Nolan chose to shoot the movie on 65mm film, which provides stunningly crisp visuals. The aerial fight sequences and shots of thousands of soldiers on the beach are particularly striking. Nolan’s choice to use practical effects over CGI helps ground the film in reality and makes the events that much more harrowing.
The Prestige (2006)
The Prestige is a mind-bending thriller that will keep you guessing until the end. This film follows two rival magicians in 19th-century London who become obsessed with creating the ultimate illusion.
Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) start out as friends and fellow magicians until a tragic accident tears them apart. Each blames the other and becomes determined to outdo one another to become the greatest magician. Their tricks become increasingly elaborate and dangerous as they try to uncover each other’s secrets.
Batman Begins (2005)
Batman Begins marks the start of Christopher Nolan’s spectacular Dark Knight trilogy. This gritty reboot of the franchise explores Bruce Wayne’s origin story and his transformation into the Caped Crusader.
After his parents are murdered, Bruce embarks on a journey to conquer his fears. He travels the world, training with the League of Shadows under the guidance of Ra’s al Ghul. When he realizes the sinister nature of the League’s true mission, Bruce rejects their extremist ideals. He returns home to Gotham City, determined to fight injustice as a vigilante called “Batman.”
Insomnia (2002)
Insomnia is a psychological crime thriller from Christopher Nolan released in 2002. Set against the backdrop of the midnight sun in Alaska, this film will have you questioning what is real and what is in the mind of protagonist Detective Dormer.
Detective Will Dormer, played by Al Pacino, is sent to a small Alaskan town to investigate the murder of a teenage girl. While there, Dormer struggles with a mysterious case of insomnia that causes vivid hallucinations and paranoia. This sleep deprivation blurs the lines between the events happening in the present-day investigation and memories of an old unsolved case in Los Angeles that still haunts him.
Following (1998)
Christopher Nolan’s second feature film was the mind-bending neo-noir thriller Following. Filmed on weekends over the course of a year with a tiny budget and crew, Following established Nolan’s signature nonlinear storytelling style.
The story centres around a young writer who follows strangers around London, searching for inspiration. He begins tailing a thief named Cobb, who takes him under his wing and teaches him the art of burglary. However, Cobb has sinister ulterior motives that are slowly revealed with flashbacks and flash-forwards.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Christopher Nolan’s films are known for mind-bending plots, gorgeous cinematography, and ensemble casts. His upcoming film Oppenheimer is already generating major buzz and is sure to be an unmissable epic.
Oppenheimer will follow the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. As the director of the Manhattan Project, Oppenheimer helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. However, he later campaigned against the proliferation of nuclear arms and the dangers of the nuclear age.
There we have it, our list of 10 best movies from Christopher Nolan. What do you think about our picks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below: