(J. Lo worries that Nolan is in over his head with this whole “architecture of the mind” idea.)
So, the announcement has been made: Christopher Nolan is making a movie this year, and it is not a Batman movie. (It especially is not a Batman movie with Angelina Jolie as Catwoman, ever, I hope I hope IhopeIhope…)
Instead, Nolan is sticking to his Batman/indie-movie/Batman sandwich pattern and has his most recent inter-Batman project already lined up.
It’s science fiction (of course), filmed from Nolan’s original script, titled Inception. The studio revealed that the movie would be “a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind.”
He does know about The Cell, right? Because none of us have forgotten. None of us can ever forget.
To be fair, this is Christopher Nolan, not M. Night, so a fuzzy logline isn’t cause for instant despair. (It’s the plants, okay? It’s the plants! They’re angry!)
Nolan is a big fan of the architecture of the mind; he tackled it before—and well—in Memento. He also tackled it (um, less well) in Insomnia, though that movie might simply have suffered from Unnecessary Adaptationitis, which strikes even the best directors at least once in their careers. It’s best if they get it over with when they’re young.
Pros: Enormous explosions aside, Nolan is a director who understands restraint, and doesn’t underestimate the intelligence of his audience…M. Night. The Prestige was a sharp and compelling film about two people who, at times, were utterly unsympathetic. (See also: the Joker.)
This facility with human frailty is the element that excites me most about Nolan as a director; I think Nolan might be able to tackle the rare science-fiction film that doesn’t show one guy struggling against The Man (represented by advanced technology or a totalitarian regime from Central Casting).
Cons: That description is so vague that it might as well be the next Batman movie, since Batman falls perfectly into that logline, right down to the architecture of the mind of a guy who dresses as a bat and drops his voice fifteen octaves every night. Maybe he’s planning to square off against Ridley Scott and bring the magic, the romance, and the danger of Chutes and Ladders to life?
Additionally, while Nolan’s films are generally strong, his women characters don’t have the same track record. (You have to cast back to Memento to find a woman who’s the equal of the male lead.) It’s past time for Nolan to have a woman strong enough to carry more than the romantic/imperiled plotline.
Aside from my instinct to send Nolan a “Please Don’t, Because We Care” package with Virtuosity, Being John Malkovich, Cube, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and The Cell in it, I am genuinely excited for this project. Nolan is a director who seems to work downward, trying to get to the heart of what his characters are up against, and it makes for beautiful films. All I want at this point is some more verbs in that logline—nouns, too, since I’m greedy. (In answer to my first question, sources say the chance of Christian Bale being cast is about 107%.)
