Famous director Christopher Nolan defended the fact that the dialogue in his movies can sometimes be very difficult to understand.
The issue is magnified when actors wear masks, such as Tom Hardy’s lines in “The Dark Knight Rises,” but the complaint about his nearly inaudible lines most recently surfaced in his blockbuster film, “Oppenheimer,” according to Insider. Some fans and critics noted “Oppenheimer” had some indiscernible moments, and Nolan noted they are quite intentional on his part.
Nolan said he shoots his movies on huge Imax cameras that are not entirely soundproof and he has no regrets about his choice. He admit that you have to “choose your moments” when using Imax, and is aware of the fact that sometimes the dialogue of his characters will not be perfectly clear, the outlet noted.
“I like to use the performance that was given in the moment rather than the actor revoice it later,” Nolan told Insider. “Which is an artistic choice that some people disagree with, and that’s their right.”
The dialogue-heavy Oval Office scene in “Oppenheimer,” which stars Cillian Murphy, was reportedly difficult for audience members to fully make out. Nolan said this had nothing to do with the Imax camera, as he purposely opted against using the 15 perf-70 mm camera for this scene. Nolan noted this was a noisier camera so he used another. He explained the reason the dialogue was difficult to understand in some parts is simply due to his personal stylistic choice.
He doesn’t request that his actors come back after filming to do additional dialogue recordings, known as ADR. This post-production element is negated entirely, which means the original is always used — even if it wasn’t perfectly executed in the first-take, according to Insider. (RELATED: ‘It’s So F*cking Powerful’: Cillian Murphy Details Oppenheimer Sex Scenes)
ADR involves actors going into soundproof booths after long scenes are filmed, and asked to read lines over until they’re clearer and more audible.