Robert Kojder on Interstellar…
Whether you love or hate Christopher Nolan, it is undeniable that he is crafting some of the most stimulating and thought-provoking films out there today; the icing on the cake is that they also happen to be highly lucrative Hollywood blockbusters. Outside of possibly Quentin Tarantino, no other director working in American cinema today has the complete freedom and control over their work than Christopher Nolan. Granted, the minimal studio interference should largely be chalked up to the fact that he is a phenomenal director, often telling mind-bending stories, but just think of what others could be capable of if Hollywood just stopped interfering and left the curators to their work.
A very recent and relevant example is Edgar Wright’s interpretation of Ant-Man getting hacked up to pieces, to the point where he is no longer directing the film. It’s understandable that Marvel is very cautious and methodical with how they maintain the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’s wholly disheartening when brilliant directors have their vision stifled. Honestly, I don’t even remember who the new director is; I’m too disappointed that Marvel wouldn’t let Edgar Wright direct a superhero film that has a style right up his alley. Ant-Man still has potential to be good, but something tells me a version by Edgar Wright without studio interference would be far more remarkable.
The difference between Christopher Nolan and Edgar Wright is that one is a marketable name, while the other is somewhat unknown despite having made fantastic movies like Shaun Of The Dead and The World’s End. Herein lies the catch 22 though; how do you establish new directors as popular mainstream public figures if you don’t allow them the chance to make something truly unique and representative of their vision? Christopher Nolan got that chance when he single-handedly revolutionized the superhero genre with Batman Begins, and thank God he did because if he hadn’t been given the freedom he had, they probably wouldn’t have been nearly as innovative and successful enough to spawn groundbreakingly original films like Inception and Interstellar.
Furthermore, when someone wildly talented like Christopher Nolan has the freedom that he has, everyone surrounding him becomes both emotionally and professionally invested into the project. A perfect example of this is Interstellar‘s soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, which expresses a range of emotions from sadness to the intensity of hurling through space at light speed. In other words, Hans knows that he is working on something very special, which clearly drives him to put forth maximum effort. Do you remember the soundtracks to recent Hans Zimmer films besides The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, and Interstellar? Probably not, because most of them are cookie-cutter Hollywood blockbuster films designed to attract the widest audience possible, which is soul-crushingly depressing to work on, but most importantly isn’t going to spark determination to put forth maximum effort.
Ambition is the other key element that comes hand-in-hand with essentially being given the keys to the castle. Interstellar is approximately 3 hours long, and yes it will be a turnoff to some, but it’s also something necessary to allow the narrative to reach the compelling heights it does. Don’t mistake that as me saying an insanely long movie is automatically a good one, because Transformers: Age of Extinction is just four minutes shorter than Interstellar, and it’s dog shit. Simply put, Christopher Nolan is using his time to tell a sweeping odyssey that leaves you feeling like you just went on an adventure, while Michael Bay just blows shit up.
And this leads me into my final point about Interstellar – and Christopher Nolan’s other films – and what separates it from other Hollywood blockbusters out there; it doesn’t insult our intelligence. Not only is there a mind-bending story here, it’s full of provocative themes about love and science, space and time, man and machine, and more. I understand wanting to shut off your brain for a few hours to watch some action, but movies like Interstellar should be rewarded infinitely more. There will be another Transformers movie in two years; there will never be another film like Interstellar.
Does this mean that every other Hollywood blockbuster out there is a shameless ploy to make money, devoid of any entertainment value? No, this year alone has produced some great blockbusters like Edge of Tomorrow, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and X-Men: Days of Future Past, but the ratio from stimulating blockbusters to mindless crap is quite depressing. Also, Interstellar is a heavily risky film to fund and far more important in the overall picture of getting the point across to Hollywood that we want to see more original ideas put on-screen.
Interstellar is the result of unfathomable amount of dedication from director Christopher Nolan, a stacked ensemble cast – with brilliant performances from Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, a surprise A-lister that is uncredited, and more – with eye-poppingly gorgeous visuals, an ambitions narrative, a heart-racing soundtrack, and so much more. Most importantly though, there was very little studio interference on Christopher Nolan, paving the way for another masterpiece that will be looked back on and remembered for years and years to come.
Robert Kojder – An aficionado of film, wrestling, and gaming. He currently writes for Flickering Myth, We Got This Covered, and Wrestle Enigma. Follow me on Twitter.
Originally published November 7, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
