Christopher Nolan’s favourite movies about “desperate men”
There’s always been a sense of masculinity in the films of Christopher Nolan, albeit a degree of manliness that is put to the tense in a range of physical and emotional ways. In The Dark Knight, Batman has to face up to his limitations as a saviour of Gotham City, while Oppenheimer sees the titular theoretical physicist grapple with the expectations of ending the Second World War.
Elsewhere, say in Inception, Matthew McConaughey’s character must also exercise his will to survive, while The Prestige saw two stage magicians come up against one another in a battle to perform the most elaborate stage trick. So, in one way or another, most of Nolan’s movies explore the desperation of male characters.
However, Nolan’s fascination with male characters on the verge of desperation does not end with his own creations. In a feature with Criterion, the iconic director once named his ten favourite movies of all time and pointed out the films that showcase the dynamics between different kinds of “desperate men”.
Of the 1984 British road crime movie The Hit, Nolan noted, “That Criterion has released this little-known Stephen Frears gem is a testament to the thoroughness of their search for obscure masterworks. Few films have gambled as much on a simple portrayal of the dynamics between desperate men.”
The Hit features John Hurt, Terence Stamp, Laura del Sol and Tim Roth in his film debut and tells of an ex-gangster turned informant who is hunted down by a series of hitmen who have been hired to silence him. Unfolding as a road trip across Spain, Frears dives headfirst into the themes of betrayal and redemption.
The motif of men in desperation continues in Nolan’s admiration with Sidney Lumet’s classic movie 12 Angry Men. Widely considered one of the greatest courtroom dramas of all time, the 1957 masterpiece is a case study in storytelling, character development, and commentary on social issues.
Taking place in a single jury room, 12 very different jurors must argue and deliberate over the case of a young man accused of murder, and Lumet uses the confined physical setting of the film to examine the biases of each individual. Human nature, justice and prejudice are all examined at length, and the jury serves as a cross-examination of society at large.
Henry Fonda makes one of his most memorable performances as the lone dissenter, and tension and suspense run throughout, making the film one of cinema’s all-time great works. But it’s that masculine desperation that seems to shine through for Nolan, though in such a different way to The Hit.
