Though he is not a filmmaker who can be easily pinned down, it’s safe to say Christopher Nolan is interested in telling grand genre stories, from action to sci-fi to mystery. Given the stakes in his films, death is pretty much a guarantee for some of his characters.
Nolan likes to play with the audience’s expectations which sometimes means it is the noble or innocent characters who bite the dust. On the other hand, he does like to see the hero triumph over the villain. Even so, some of the characters from Nolan’s films didn’t deserve to die, whereas others had it coming.
Didn’t Deserve: Hap – Insomnia (2002)
When there is a murder in a small Alaskan town, two Los Angeles detectives arrive to help the investigation. Will and Hap are partners on the job and in the midst of an internal affairs investigation that threatens their careers.
While pursuing the murder suspect in the fog, Will takes a shot but it turns out to be Hap. As he dies, Hap is convinced Will shot him on purpose. Whether or not that is true, it was a dangerous thing for Will to do and it cost Hap his life.
Did Deserve: Robert Angier – The Prestige (2006)
In one of Nolan’s most underrated films, The Prestige tells the story of two rival magicians seeking to create the perfect trick and ruin the other. Robert Angier starts out as an ambitious and reasonable man who is drawn deeper into the dark feud.
By the end of the film, he has become so engrossed in the rivalry that he has the other man framed for murder and takes the man’s daughter as his own. Just as he thinks he got away with it, the man’s twin brother kills Angier.
Didn’t Deserve: Sarah – The Prestige (2006)
On the other side of the magician rivalry in The Prestige is Alfred Borden. He is a skilled magician though lacks the theatricality of his rival. Borden meets and falls in love with a woman named Sarah and they have a daughter together.
Unbeknownst to Sarah, Borden is actually two people with twin brothers trading places periodically in order to create their best illusion. One of the brothers loves Sarah while the other loves another woman. The deceptive marriage eventually leads to Sarah committing suicide, an unwilling pawn in this game.
Did Deserve: Mann – Interstellar (2014)
In the sci-fi epic Interstellar, a group of astronauts travel into space in search of a planet that can sustain human life. While on their mission, they receive a message from a member of the previous mission, named Mann, claiming he has located a suitable planet.
However, the message turns out to be a trap. After living in isolation for so long, Mann is willing to draw the new team in and kill them, so he can use their ship to go back home. However, Mann only succeeds in causing the ship to malfunction and blow himself up.
Didn’t Deserve: Rachel Dawes – The Dark Knight (2008)
In Nolan’s Batman films, Rachel Dawes is as heroic as Batman, but she doesn’t wear a mask when she fights crime. Rachel is Gotham’s determined assistant district attorney and, along with Harvey Dent, she aims to rid the city of its crime.
Rachel and Harvey are captured by Joker and strapped to bombs in separate locations. Batman attempts to save Rachel but is tricked into going to the wrong location. As Rachel hears Harvey being saved, she is grateful but is then blown up.
Did Deserve: Ra’s Al Ghul – Batman Begins (2005)
When traveling the world in search of answers, Bruce Wayne meets a man named Ducard who works for Ra’s Al Ghul, the leader of the League of Shadows. Al Ghul seeks to rid the world of evil by any means necessary.
It turns out Ducard is the real Ra’s Al Ghul and he returns to destroy Gotham as it has been overrun by crime and corruption. As he tries to kill millions of people, Batman fights him atop a runaway train. After Batman neglects to save him, Al Ghul is killed when the train crashes.
Didn’t Deserve: Mal – Inception (2010)
Nolan is known for his mind-bending plots, but Inception stands out as the craziest. It deals with people entering other people’s dreams and stealing their ideas. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb a master of his kind of thievery who recently lost his wife Mal.
After Cobb and Mal spent too much time in the dream world Cobb implanted an idea in her head to get her to return home. However, the idea caused her to believe the real world was a dream and that she needed to kill herself to wake up.
Did Deserve: Bane – The Dark Knight Rises
Though Joker was a tough villain to follow, Tom Hardy’s Bane is a formidable foe in The Dark Knight Rises. Bane and his army swiftly take over Gotham, imprison the city’s cops, and cripples Batman.
While Bane tells the people of Gotham that he seeks to free them and give power back to the disenfranchised, his real plan is to fulfill Ra’s Al Ghul’s mission and destroy Gotham. After getting beaten by Batman, Bane is put down permanently by Catwoman.
Didn’t Deserve: George – Dunkirk (2017)
Unlike most war movies, Dunkirk explores the heroism of just trying to stay alive. The soldiers are attempting to retreat instead of fight, but there are plenty of heroes in the story. With the soldier stranded on a French beach, civilian boats attempt to sail over and rescue them.
One of the civilians ready to risk his life is a young man named George. When their ship rescues a soldier suffering from PTSD, the man shoves George, causing him to hit his head. Eventually, the injury worsens, and George dies when he was just trying to help
Did Deserve: Walter Finch – Insomnia (2002)
As Will Dormer investigates the murder of the young girl in the Alaskan town, he is eventually contacted by a man named Walter Finch. Walter admits to being the killer, but since he saw Will shoot Hap, he sees them as equals.
Walter insists he didn’t mean to kill the girl, but it becomes clear that he is a very sick man who is capable of doing terrible things. He tries to frame a young man for the crime then attempts to kill a cop who finds him out. Eventually, Will is able to shoot him dead.
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