The Two Levels of the Treatment of Time in Christopher Nolan’s Films: The Narrative and Its Cinematic Treatment

Vollständiger Abstract

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The question of time is central to Christopher Nolan’s films — Following (1998), Memento (2000), and Tenet (2020). Nolan often uses ‘time’ as a central narrative device in his films through non-linear storytelling. We use the cognitive theory of relevance to examine Nolan’s varied use of temporal deconstruction to build his cinematic narratives. He creates a dynamic of suspense through an extreme temporal deconstruction produced through film editing. This affects cognition and emotion with an experiential dimension, as it shares the protagonist’s mental state with the viewer. In Following, the editing methodically deconstructs and reorganises the plot through constant temporal leaps. The theme of manipulation is addressed through an extreme deconstruction of temporal linearity. The viewer, manipulated by the director, then shares the protagonist’s mental confusion. In Memento, Nolan challenges structural conventions, with the plot (the order in which events are recounted) beginning at the ends of the fabula (the chronological order of events in the story) and concluding in the middle. In Tenet, the question of time is addressed at both the narrative and the cinematic levels. Time reversibility is illustrated by a visual style that employs rewind footage. Nolan continues to deconstruct and reconstruct the fabula through thought experiments that invite, manipulate, coerce, and even deceive the viewer into participating in the unraveling of the plot. Thus, the anagnorisis is no longer an observable element of the story, but rather a subjective experience for its audience.