As one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation, Christopher Nolan tackles a variety of different topics and themes, ensuring that his filmography is the furthest thing from forgettable. His brother Jonathan is also in the entertainment industry, having co-written some of the elder Nolan’s films and being a showrunner of highly rated series like Person of Interest and Westworld. Then there’s a third Nolan brother Matthew – whom hardly anybody talks about, but he might just be the perfect subject for a film.
In 2008, Christopher Nolan celebrated the success of The Dark Knight becoming the biggest comic book movie of all time, as well as a legitimately excellent film across the board. Yet that same year also brought attention to Matthew – the kind of notoriety that nobody wants.
“A Chicago bank discovered it had been victimised by a ‘cheque-kiting’ scheme,” Sgt. John Lucki told The Sunday Times. According to Lucki, Matthew wrote checks from bank accounts in Costa Rica then cashed them in Chicago – to the sum of $600,000. Allegedly, Matthew also schmoozed the bankers by saying he helped to finance The Dark Knight and offered rides in the Batmobile.
Lucki and the law enforcement authorities had their eye on Matthew when they discovered something else: the FBI had been watching him since 2005. As it turns out, he was a suspect in the murder of accountant Robert Cohen in Costa Rica. While he was never convicted for the murder or any part in it, there were rumors he may have been hired as a hitman to kill Cohen. That’s only touching the surface of this crazy story, as he’s also purported to have used the alias of Oppenheimer. The alias reads as darkly prophetic in hindsight. Christopher Nolan would go on to win the Best Director Oscar for Oppenheimer in 2024, more than a decade after his own brother had quietly borrowed the name while evading the FBI. The Sunday Times has all the explosive details and interviews; it’s a recommended read for those who want to find out more.
According to FBI Agent Pablo Arayas, Matthew was watched for years while a warrant for his arrest was in the works. However, Matthew knew how to avoid being spotted, with there being a suspicion he may have had British special forces experience. “He seemed to be very savvy about surveillance,” Arayas said, “covering his tracks and using multiple aliases.”
When Matthew and his wife filed for bankruptcy in 2009, the FBI arrested him. Yet even in prison, he reportedly had another ace up his sleeve as he tried to create a Batman-esque escape for himself using a rope, harness, and other accessories. He was caught and received a 14-month sentence for it, but since he had already been in custody for 16 months, he didn’t serve additional time. The plan was to extradite him to Costa Rica; however, the lack of evidence resulted in Matthew being released in 2010. Since then, there’s been no word about him or his known location – nor have his brothers ever spoken about the incident or him.
As one Redditor wrote, “Those three brothers watched Heat and it inspired them in 3 different way.” The story has resurfaced this week as that same Reddit thread dissecting Matthew’s saga goes viral, reigniting interest just as Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey dominates the box office in its opening weeks. It’s certainly quite the story – and you just know that Hollywood must be itching to adapt the Matthew Nolan biopic in some way.
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