“Even the Best makes Mistakes”…..
One of the most exceptional contemporary directors, Christopher Nolan grips his audience to the belief that eternal Good is prevalent even in the worst of the times, sturdiest of the storms and the murkiest of evil.
There is something that connects all of his protagonists. It is an uncanny confluence that brings all these protagonists together in one puff in terms of their reflections, actions and dilemmas, no matter how distinct they are in their otherwise terms. They are not quite the epitome of unsullied decisions and exterior, but rather flawed, damaged and yet so morally upright in their own ways.. His characters are no alien to foul plays, but even in their degradation, even in their falls, we sense an inexplicable admiration and endorsement.
Bruce Wayne (The Batman Trilogy)
With his mask and Bat Suit on, he is the Savior of Gotham, the Dark Knight.. However with a dreadful childhood memory of losing his parents, the man beneath the mask- Bruce Wayne (portrayed by Christian Bale) is a character who is periled by his own uncertainty and impasse of mind.
Dom Cobb (Inception)
The protagonist of Nolan’s another cinematic masterpiece is not out of the league of flawed heroes as well. Dom Cobb (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) is a wanted fugitive on the charge of murdering his wife and is barred from returning to his own country. He excels in the field of extraction- a new form of espionage along with his team, which includes illicitly infiltrating people’s mind in their dreams. He is psychologically distressed with the memory of his dead wife and is largely an on-the-edge of a delusional character.
Leonard Shelby (Memento)
Nolan’s celebrated Neo-Noir psychological thriller “Memento” features another blemished but striking protagonist, Leonard Shelby, (essayed by Guy Pierce) whose life changed after losing his wife and his memory in a appalling incident and suffered anterograde amnesia. He sets out on his mission to avenge his beloved’s death, but simultaneously has also to battle out his own inner demons.
Alfred Borden (The Prestige)
This fantasy thriller revolves around the life of gifted magician, Alfred Borden (played by Christian Bale) whose acute ambition for his craft and burgeoning rivalry with his counterpart, Robert Angier leads him to take steps so uncharacteristic of him and even leap into the dome of evil.
Robert Angier (The Prestige)
Borden’s rival and once aide, Robert Angier (played by Hugh Jackman) is also a product of misery being shaped to vengeance. Disillusioned with the death of his wife, he is another of Nolan’s damaged but admirable characters who fight evil in his own good bad ways.
Will Dormer (Insomnia)
Will Dormer, (played by Al Pacino) is a veteran LAPD Officer investigating the brutal murder of a teenage girl but is himself jeopardized by his own sense of guilt and vulnerability.
The Young Man ( Following)
Christopher Nolan, who is known and hailed for his avant-garde portrayal of protagonists made his voice heard even in his first cinematic venture, “Following”. The plot follows the life of a mysterious young man, who trails the whereabouts of strangers and consequently finds himself trapped in the cobweb of his own actions.
There is grandeur even when all his protagonists are broken. So we realize their insanity, empathize when they are left at crossroads. That is why we don’t sketch Wayne as an Outlaw, Cobb as an Espionage leader, the young Man (Following 1998) as a thief and Leonard as an avenger. What is really left lingering in our minds is the characters’ incredible sustenance for a cause, general or personal. Most are stranded in their respective positions where virtue becomes a nemesis, so they go the other way, in a hope that their cause is righteous enough to define the means.