Despite garnering his share of negative reviews, there’s no doubt Christopher Nolan represents an important and rare form of filmmaker in 2023. A director capable of delivering cerebral, thought-provoking films while also demonstrating a consistent ability to absolutely rake it in at the box office is a fine thing in the age of Marvel Cinematic Universe overload. The New York Film Critics Circle certainly thinks so, anyway, awarding Nolan the best director prize at a recent ceremony.
During his acceptance speech, the director provided an array of typically thoughtful and lucid observations on the state of film criticism. But he also took the opportunity to reveal what might be the most withering critical appraisal of his films yet. As Variety reports, Nolan recalled a time where he was working out on his Peloton exercise bike when suddenly, in the midst of a particularly strenuous session, he was confronted with an impromptu review of one of his latest films:
“The instructor started talking about one of my films and said, ‘Has anyone else seen this because that’s a couple hours of my life I’ll never get back.’ When [film critic] Rex Reed takes a s**t on your film he doesn’t ask you to work out more with him.”
Nolan didn’t reveal which film had upset the instructor, but since “Oppenheimer” runs for three hours, we might well have yet another “Tenet” detractor on our hands.