Hey guys, I'm new here! Hopefully this topic hasn't been beaten to death (I apologize if it has).

I hear a common complaint that Chris Nolan's movies have no "warmth", that they're "emotionally cold" and "frigid." I don't get that. You'd think that everyone in his movies was a zombie, from the way some Nolan Haters speak.

I feel like it's just the opposite. Memento has a strong emotional core, and the way Guy Pearce plays Leonard is almost tragic, especially with monologues like this:

I don't even know how long she's been gone. It's like I've woken up in bed and she's not here... because she's gone to the bathroom or something. But somehow, I know she's never gonna come back to bed. If I could just... reach over and touch... her side of the bed, I would know that it was cold, but I can't. I know I can't have her back... but I don't want to wake up in the morning, thinking she's still here. I lie here not knowing... how long I've been alone. So how... how can I heal? How am I supposed to heal if I can't... feel time?

That's extremely touching, and not at all what I would consider "cold" or "lifeless." The guy can't even remember that his damn wife is dead when he wakes up in the morning.

And look at Cobb in Inception. The only time he can see his wife is when he's dreaming. On top of that, he can't even see his own kids.

The Prestige actually made me cry at the end, during the scene when Borden is saying goodbye to Fallon from behind bars. It made my girlfriend cry too. On first viewing, it's not as emotionally effective, but once you see the film again, and again, the ramifications of that scene are devastating.

And Batman Begins, The Dark Knight - Thomas and Martha Wayne, Rachel's death, Harvey's downfall, the list is endless. The notion that any Nolan film is "stale" or "cold" is mind-boggling to me. I saw Batman Begins with my grandparents on opening day, and they actually choked up when Alfred was speaking to Young Bruce after the funeral. Is everyone else insane or something?

Thanks for reading guys!

It's just trolls trolling.I feel the same way as you do on every of those moments you mentioned.They are very far away from being cold.I think it's quite masterfull on his part that he doesnt need cliched characters and story(say warrior)or music hitting you over the head with emotion(think mr.williams)to convey powerfull emotions.

Well, I think Nolan presents characters in a more human way. His films are very psychological, so we're getting inside the heads of human beings, and not characters in a giant Cheese-Fest. The traditional Hollywood character, I think, is like Jack and Rose in Titanic, or Ben Affleck in Pearl Harbor, or something like Gone with the Wind, with big, over-the-top one-liners and hair twirls, and "The Big Look" that you'll find in soap operas right before they cut to commercial. In other words, the characters have to be as big and dramatic as the movie itself, so if the movie is a Blockbuster, the characters have to be Blockbusters too. I think that's where Hollywood went wrong, and I think Nolan's attempt is to say, "Here's a human being in a crazy situation."

Murphy528 wrote:Hey guys, I'm new here! Hopefully this topic hasn't been beaten to death (I apologize if it has).

I hear a common complaint that Chris Nolan's movies have no "warmth", that they're "emotionally cold" and "frigid." I don't get that. You'd think that everyone in his movies was a zombie, from the way some Nolan Haters speak.

I feel like it's just the opposite. Memento has a strong emotional core, and the way Guy Pearce plays Leonard is almost tragic, especially with monologues like this:

I don't even know how long she's been gone. It's like I've woken up in bed and she's not here... because she's gone to the bathroom or something. But somehow, I know she's never gonna come back to bed. If I could just... reach over and touch... her side of the bed, I would know that it was cold, but I can't. I know I can't have her back... but I don't want to wake up in the morning, thinking she's still here. I lie here not knowing... how long I've been alone. So how... how can I heal? How am I supposed to heal if I can't... feel time?

That's extremely touching, and not at all what I would consider "cold" or "lifeless." The guy can't even remember that his damn wife is dead when he wakes up in the morning.

And look at Cobb in Inception. The only time he can see his wife is when he's dreaming. On top of that, he can't even see his own kids.

The Prestige actually made me cry at the end, during the scene when Borden is saying goodbye to Fallon from behind bars. It made my girlfriend cry too. On first viewing, it's not as emotionally effective, but once you see the film again, and again, the ramifications of that scene are devastating.

And Batman Begins, The Dark Knight - Thomas and Martha Wayne, Rachel's death, Harvey's downfall, the list is endless. The notion that any Nolan film is "stale" or "cold" is mind-boggling to me. I saw Batman Begins with my grandparents on opening day, and they actually choked up when Alfred was speaking to Young Bruce after the funeral. Is everyone else insane or something?

Thanks for reading guys!

Welcome aboard, Murphy528!
I agree with you. I think that Christopher Nolan uses his artistry to explore the human soul (and to have fun, because he will always be the little boy with his Starwars action figures but that's another story). He's not "emotionally cold", he just shows reserve. He observes his characters, their evolution, and in every film, he shows us with a deep sense of humanity the complexity of those characters, their doubts, their madness, their strength...It's always very subtle, very clever, and never with voyeurism. That is Christopher Nolan's signature: a deep sense of humanity, the respect of his audience and a real affection for his characters.

BlackBird wrote:
Welcome aboard, Murphy528!
I agree with you. I think that Christopher Nolan uses his artistry to explore the human soul (and to have fun, because he will always be the little boy with his Starwars action figures but that's another story). He's not "emotionally cold", he just shows reserve. He observes his characters, their evolution, and in every film, he shows us with a deep sense of humanity the complexity of those characters, their doubts, their madness, their strength...It's always very subtle, very clever, and never with voyeurism. That is Christopher Nolan's signature: a deep sense of humanity, the respect of his audience and a real affection for his characters.

Yeah... Resumes my own thoughts pretty well. Nice post Black.

aside from ben button, it's Dave Fincher who's films are cold. Seriously, they're like machines- rhythmic, sleek, but in the end soulless.

I 100% agree about David Fincher. All of his films are cold and mechanical.

Well, Nolan's films are very, very emotional in my opinion. What makes him seem cold to many people is that his emotions are always centered around the darker (or at least more serious) side of emotions as opposed to the optimistic and hopeful ones. Regret, Obsession, Tragic Love, Dedication, Mercy, Passion, Desire, Revenge, etc: These are all very powerful emotions, they just aren't very positive ones in most cases.

Inception for example, Mal's suicidal scenes, and the confrontation between her and Cobb during the climax were some of the most emotional and powerful moments I've ever experienced in a film, I was on the verge of tears the entire time. I guess this is due to the fact that I can appreciate and connect to the more tragic emotions, some people aren't able to really connect to the idea that they caused their lover to kill themselves, and so forth...

MiracleSleeper wrote:Inception for example, Mal's suicidal scenes, and the confrontation between her and Cobb during the climax were some of the most emotional and powerful moments I've ever experienced in a film, I was on the verge of tears the entire time.

Makes me tear up every time. I put it down to Marion's delivery, so emotional and deep, her tears are just so prominent, the entire scene is extremely emotional.

Mason wrote:

MiracleSleeper wrote:Inception for example, Mal's suicidal scenes, and the confrontation between her and Cobb during the climax were some of the most emotional and powerful moments I've ever experienced in a film, I was on the verge of tears the entire time.

Makes me tear up every time. I put it down to Marion's delivery, so emotional and deep, her tears are just so prominent, the entire scene is extremely emotional.

When she's on the ledge and when they're waiting for the train... holy shit. I was going to explode. My body was a mess.