JAMES MOTTRAM

BOOKS

Combining a film-by-film analysis with biography and extensive interviews, Tom Shone’s The Nolan Variations (★★★★★) is an essential read for Christopher Nolan fans. Searching for what makes the blockbuster auteur tick and out to prove his films are personal, this chunky tome is thorough and fascinating, and gives equal weight to every Nolan film to date.

Each film fills a chapter, broken up into Nolanesque themes: ‘Structure’, ‘Time’, ‘Perception’. Erudite but accessible, Variations digs deep into Nolan’s influences, from Borges to Chandler. It’s not a straightforward hagiography, either: there are moments of friction, and Shone doesn’t present the films as flawless (he’s a bit harsh on Batman Begins).

Even Nolan nerds will find plenty of fresh material to ruminate on, including some insight into his abandoned Howard Hughes project. Nolan also occasionally sets Shone perplexing thought puzzles, which add to the engaging, personal dimension of the text. A considerable achievement.

Also out is The Secrets Of Tenet: Inside Christopher Nolan’s Quantum Cold War (★★★★), written by James Mottram. A production-focused making-of, boasting considerable access to Nolan and his key behind-the-scenes collaborators, it might not help you unpick the plot’s most tangled knots, but it provides a comprehensive breakdown of each of the film’s staggering set-pieces, going into detail on vehicles, stunts and globe-trotting locations. Combined with a glut of production photographs, it’s a coffeetable delight worthy of poring over (forwards or backwards). Matt Maytum