Short of the Week: ‘Doodlebug’, an early Christopher Nolan work
Throughout his trailblazing career, the films of Christopher Nolan have captured the popular consciousness in highly effective ways. Ranging from deep dives into his complex narrative structures to incessant memes revolving around his work, Nolan has dominated online film discourse for a number of years now. While most fans are familiar with the director’s immensely popular high-budget cinematic spectacles, Nolan’s early works are just as interesting.
In particular, Nolan’s first feature – the 1998 gem Following – contained many delightful precursors that were beautifully executed within the tight constraints of a low-budget production. However, even before Following, Nolan was translating his primary artistic concerns to the highly demanding format of the short film. In this edition of Short of the Week, we are aiming the spotlight at one of the most interesting curiosities in Nolan’s filmography – Doodlebug.
Only three minutes in length, Doodlebug features an incredibly paranoid man (played by Jeremy Theobald) who is occupied by the pursuit of an elusive insect trapped in his room. Drowning in anxiety, all he can think about is the annihilation of the insect which burrows deeper into the architecture of his room and, consequently, his mind. Within these three minutes, Nolan constructs an unsettling vision that is propped up on multiple registers of reality.
During a conversation with The Daily Beast, Nolan explained: “It might be unusual in movies, but it’s very well-established in other media. I’m very inspired by the prints of M.C. Escher and the interesting connection-point or blurring of boundaries between art and science and art and mathematics. I’m thinking of his Penrose steps illustrations that inspired Inception. Also, the writing of Jorge Borges, the great Argentinian writer, wrote all kinds of incredible short stories that dealt with paradox. But I feel like films are uniquely suited towards addressing paradox, recursiveness, and worlds-within-worlds.”
The filmmaker has come a long way since then, especially because he has access to big budgets which match the ambition of his ideas. Nolan added: “I think that Hollywood has always had and will always have tension between the desire to do something original and fresh and the fear of alienating an audience and the commerce of it all. When you look at big budgets, it’s rare that filmmakers get the opportunity to pursue their passion and do something original, so when I get the chance, as I have a couple of times, I really get the chance to use that opportunity because it’s an opportunity that a lot of other filmmakers would kill for. I feel a huge responsibility to go out there and do my best.”
Fans are especially excited to catch Oppenheimer, Nolan’s upcoming war epic, which is one of the most anticipated films of the year. Despite the fact that he has mastered the art of producing expensive IMAX experiences, Nolan’s early works have a special charm to them that will probably never be replicated in any of his future projects.
Watch the film below.
