There’s absolutely no denying Chris Nolan is one talented son-of-a-gun. At the tender age of 30 he wrote and directed one of the most critically acclaimed films of our time, Memento, which tells the story of a widowed man suffering from short-term-memory loss (I guess you could call it your average male). He uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks is responsible for killing his wife. The film was an overwhelming success with critics and was our first piece of the creative genius’ mind.

Since Memento Nolan has directed the following films: Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception and next year’s highly anticipated final chapter in his Batman Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. Barring Insomnia Nolan has written every film he has directed to date, with each one adding greater hype to the cinematic experience he creates. Not many directors boast such a prolofic repertoire in their first 10 years of filmmaking.

Some will call me a biased sod, because I am a fan of the Londoner’s work. My own view on Inception was that it was one of the most thought-provoking films I had ever watched and I know that the majority of the individuals that contributed to its grossing $532million share my enthusiasm.

My review of the film went something like this:

“Fans of Nolan’s works, Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige and the revamped Batman series will immediately recognise the vividness of the Londoner’s imagination and his honesty throughout the film. The shots and edit-cuts are seamless, the camera remains calm even in action-fuelled scenes and he steers clear of CGI where his innovative lens will suffice. The editing, cinematography, sound, locations and his manipulation of dynamics are simply mesmerising, while Hans Zimmer’s progressive soundtrack punctuates the film with typical panache. The impossible suddenly seems plausible with a script and dialogue that is rich, intelligent and anything but austere.”

Ok, that is a wad of my critic-spunk but let’s get real here. Despite the film receiving eight nominations including a Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture nomination, Nolan was snubbed for the Best Director title. The NY Times reports today “That The Dark Knight was denied a spot in 2009 is one reason [the Academy] doubled the number of best-picture nominees, to 10, last year.” If that’s the case, why has been ignored again?

Enough of my own view though. Here is what Hans Zimmer, composer for over 130 titles, had to say:

“I think he was held up at gunpoint.

“My instinct tells me that because it was a commercial success, suddenly they took the idea of artfulness away from him.

“I think if the Academy wants to stay current they need to go and look at these things very carefully. I’ve worked with a lot of directors. There are few directors that are in the class of a Chris Nolan. It’s not right.”

Zimmer adopts the role of “zee German rebuff-sniffing dog with a hard-on for Oscar justice”. I’ll join him in his disapproval – Inception was ‘art’ and Nolan deserved his spot. Fans will hope the Academy is waiting for TDKR to pay him what’s due.

[Sources: NY Times; Rediff; UKPA]

Main image via collider.com