SNAPSHOT
This video examines one of Christopher Nolan’s trademark techniques—the crosscut—by dissecting The Dark Knight, Inception, and Interstellar. (synopsis (c) Lessons From the Screenplay)
By any measure, Christopher Nolan is one of the most inventive, clever and enthrallingly immersive filmmakers working today.
So who better than Lesson From the Screenplay‘s Michael Tucker to explore just Nolan uses various techniques, and one in particular to craft absolutely compelling cinematic experiences.
What makes this latest instalment in Tucker’s always-fascinating video series so interesting to watch is that he is honest about when Nolan’s trademark technique, the crosscut, doesn’t work by comparing it to the many times when it most certainly does.
Effective crosscuts, Tucker argues, work as well as they do because even though we have two or three streams of action taking place simultaneously, they all come together to powerful effect in what Tuckers calls a “unified dramatic question”.
While you may be among those people who found Nolan’s latest flawed masterpiece Tenet as confusing as it’s invigorating, there’s no denying Nolan is one of the best filmmakers working today, and Tucker’s examination of Nolan’s work, even when it doesn’t quite play out as intended, reinforces that sense quite powerfully throughout this cleverly-argued video.