Christopher Nolan’s movies span several genres, but no matter what the genre, they can be described as ‘mind-bending’ for sure. Nolan is known for experimenting with time in his narratives, and the twists lie in not just what he reveals but when. Every movie of his has been non-linear and features some incredible twists in its screenplay.
Not all of the filmmaker’s plot twists have worked well for the movie, with some even being quite predictable. However, all of them have had sufficient crumbs in the screenplay to foreshadow these twists and turns. Here are the best twists in Christopher Nolan’s movies ranked in terms of predictability.
9. Miranda Tate Was Talia al Ghul All Along
This was the worst-kept secret in the world at the time. Christopher Nolan reunited with most of the Inception cast members in The Dark Knight Rises, including Marion Cotillard. Cotillard was introduced as Miranda Tate, a business tycoon who had invested in Bruce Wayne’s clean energy project before he shut it down due to its nuclear capabilities.
While the movie tried to distract us by implying that Tom Hardy’s Bane was the child who escaped from prison before Wayne, it was revealed at the end that it was Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul, who trained Bruce with the League of Shadows. Miranda Tate was Talia. The twist came a bit too late and was quite predictable for anyone who knew the comics.
8. The Protagonist Founded the Tenet Organization
One of the recognizable patterns of Christopher Nolan’s time-bending movies is that it is all cyclic. It is a structure that he has used many times, and by the time 2020’s Tenet came along, the trope had become all too familiar. Throughout the movie, we come across agents of the Tenet Organization, who are communicating with them from the future.
However, when the trio of Ives, Neil, and the Protagonist save the algorithm from getting into the hands of Sator, Neil reveals to him that this moment was the ‘beginining of a beautiful friendship’ for the protagonist, and the end of one for him. This meant that the Protagonist would go on to start the organization and recruit Neil for the same.
7. Cooper Was the Ghost Behind Murph’s Bookshelf
Yet another instance of a story that is cyclic. Interstellar begins with Murph finding a ‘ghost’ in her bedroom, which is trying to communicate through the books in her library. Her father, Cooper, suggests that she be scientific about it, which results in them finding the coordinates to NASA, and for adult Murph to find the equations to solve gravity and save the world.
After Cooper goes into the Black Hole, Gargantua, he gets transported to a tessaract, where time is a physical dimension and is filled with moments from Murph’s bedroom. Coop tries to communicate with his daughter and urges his past self to stay, but in the end, he realizes that he was the ‘ghost’ who communicated with her all along.
6. David L. Hill Speaks Out Against Lewis Strauss
Oppenheimer takes place in two timelines, one chronicling Robert J. Oppenheimer’s rise in academics and his work in the Manhattan Project, and the second one exploring the political rivalry he had with Admiral Lewis Strauss of the Atomic Energy Commission. The revelation that Strauss was responsible for his humiliating Security Clearance hearing was pretty obvious.
However, Strauss’ Senate confirmation hearing is sabotaged by David L. Hill’s testimony, confirming the rivalry between Strauss and Oppenheimer. Rami Malek’s performance is incredible, and he gets a great moment to shine as we are shown Oppenheimer rejecting Hill’s concerns regarding the atomic bomb’s relevance after Germany’s surrender.
5. Cobb and the Blonde Set Up the Young Man
If you have not watched Christopher Nolan’s debut feature film, Following, do not miss it. While frugal and low in production, most of Nolan’s future stylistic choices are evident in the movie. From non-linear storytelling to unreliable narrators, to plot twists that bend your mind, it is a perfect neo-noir mystery.
As the Young Man tries to help the Blonde in his life from her abusive, gangster husband, he realizes that he has been framed by her as well as his mentor in burglary, Cobb. The two, who were seemingly unrelated till now, are in cahoots with each other to save Cobb from a murder suspicion. It is a classic noir twist, and Nolan executes it perfectly.
4. Rachel and Harvey Dent Are in Opposite Addresses
One of the most harrowing moments of The Dark Knight is Rachel Dawes’ death. Kidnapped by the Joker as he sits in the interrogation room, she leaves a letter before this with Alfred, stating that she envisions a future with Harvey Dent, who is also kidnapped. The Joker tells the cops and Batman two addresses and gives them enough time to go after one of them.
While Batman chooses Rachel, Gordon goes after Harvey. However, as a true agent of chaos, Joker swaps the addresses, and Batman ends up saving Harvey Dent, while the cops fail to rescue Rachel. It is the perfect dark prank that a character like Joker could pull, and then leans into the theme of moral choices that are tested again at the end of the movie.
3. Henry Ducard Was the Real Ra’s al Ghul
Liam Neeson’s Henry Ducard rescues Bruce Wayne from his prison and then trains him in the ways of the League of Shadows. Ken Watanabe is introduced as Ra’s Al Ghul, the founder of the League, even in the comics. While Bruce escapes the League after refusing to be an executioner, he saves Henry Ducard from death, which turns out to be a mistake.
In the last act of Batman Begins, Neeson’s Ducard returns from the dead (a reference to the Lazarus Pit in the comics) and reveals himself to be the real Ra’s al Ghul. It is a twist that was a bit obvious for hardcore fans, but for the general audience, an incredible one.
2. Leonard Shelby is Sammy Jankis
Christopher Nolan’s sophomore film, Memento, is structured to make the audience understand in real-time how it feels to be in Leonard Shelby’s shoes. A man suffering from anterograde amnesia, Leonard Shleby, is in search of his wife’s killer. He only has one name, ‘John G.,’ as a clue, and he has a companion named Teddy, who is not trustworthy.
Throughout the movie, Shelby speaks of a man named Sammy Jankis, a patient in his previous life as an insurance investigator. Jankis is also said to be suffering from the same disease and is in charge of giving his wife her sugar medication. However, at the end, it is revealed that Shelby was Jankis and he was responsible for his wife’s accidental death.
1. How Borden and Angier Pulled off The Transported Man
The Prestige is Christopher Nolan’s best movie. The film follows the rivalry between two magicians in the 1800s that spans decades of their lives. One of the prized tricks that Christian Bale’s Borden creates and Hugh Jackman’s Angier steals is called The Transported Man, which sees the magician transport to another part of the stage through an open door frame.
The movie is structured through Angier’s search for Borden’s true secret to the Transported Man, and he goes through several psychological traumas trying to find it and best his rival. At the end, it is revealed that Angier just used his twin, whom he had kept a secret for a long time.
While the twist is incredible on its own, what makes the film truly great is the reveal at the end that Angier used Tesla’s machine to create infinite doubles of himself, who are killed every time the Transported Man is performed.
While Christopher Nolan’s movies may seem too convoluted, they usually clear up after multiple watches, and the twists and turns hit better upon rewatches. The filmmaker rarely waters down his screenplay for understandability, and if there are complaints, he just says, ‘Don’t understand it, feel it. ‘
What do you think is the best twist in a Christopher Nolan movie? Comment below.
