Well, most of his films rely on a trick, mostly formal (Memento has one of its timelines going backwards, Dunkirk uses three timelines that converge), but sometimes narrative (the father being the daughter's ghost in Interstellar), but these tricks are only used to build dramatic and narrative effects and tension, and are mostly shallow when it comes to building meaning or affective depth. On the other hand, films like Je t'aime, je t'aime or Irréversible too play on temporal manipulation (and are both somewhat close to Memento) but in ways that go beyond dramatic effects (still very much part of both movies, but not as an end in itself). Both films are using their structures as part of wider propositions on time - Resnais's work is mostly about regrets and nostalgia, Noé about degenerescence and irrevocability - and notwithstanding their plots, these are two films that have enough elements to force their spectators into deeper considerations (or at least, two films that stay with you for some time).
That being said, I still like Nolan a lot.