It has been half a year since I (and much of the world) has stepped into a movie theater. It’s a shame that this pandemic has hurt the movie industry as hard as it has, because the one thing that the world needs in 2020 is escapism. The world is not yet back to normal, but cinemas around the world have started reopening and with them, we’re seeing long-delayed movies finally being released.
Christopher Nolan films have long been big screen staples. In the past decade and a half, he’s incorporated and increasing amount of IMAX footage into each of his movies and they only seem to be getting bigger in scope and production as well. His latest release, Tenet, is no exception.
Tenet stars John David Washington as the protagonist. He is the equivalent of a super spy and finds himself right in the middle of a struggle that will cause a global catastrophe. He must race time itself, whether forward or inverse to accomplish his task.
Writer/Director Christopher Nolan has been getting blank checks from Warner Brothers for over a decade now and he has the ability to make whatever movie he wants. I don’t imagine any director, outside of Wes Anderson or Quentin Tarantino, has this kind of creative freedom. And what does Nolan intend to do with this freedom? Challenge his audience. This is not always a good thing. He’s been a solid source for think-piece blockbusters that reward audiences. His movies have never been the type to allow you to “go to the movies and turn your brain off.” Instead, you watch every frame, every movement and motif, to see what clues he hides within the film.
With Tenet, you’ll be examining elements so closely that your head will start to hurt and you’ll miss other clues because of it. This is not a one-and-done movie experience. When the credits roll, you’ll understand enough of what you witnessed, but will still not know why a lot of it happened or just how they pulled it off.
Without spoiling anything, just realize that if Christopher Nolan made a Bond movie (which he’s always loved), this is the plot he’d go with. The concepts and themes are far above standard espionage fare, but the characters and motives are tropes of the genre.
Joining Washington is Robert Pattinson as Neil. He assists the protagonist on his mission but is largely kept in the dark about what is happening to reality. Pattinson plays Neil as breezy, but fully confident in his abilities and steals every scene he’s in. I’ve long tried to share that Pattinson no longer needs redemption in the public’s minds, and this movie will prove that for wide release audiences. Elizabeth Debicki (Widows, GotG Vol. 2) stars as Kat, the wife of a supposed weapons runner, who is looking for her own way out of her current reality. Debicki brings class to every role and surely does here. Her plot is meant to bring an emotional element to the movie, but in first viewing I didn’t find that subplot to be as successful. I kept wishing they’d move beyond that and get back to what I considered to be more important – the mysteries behind what the protagonist was experiencing.
Tenet takes its time to deliver on the inventive shots shown in the trailer, but once it establishes the rules and methods of inverse time, it’s unlike anything you’ve seen. Nolan’s practical filmmaking techniques only cement these effects as game-changing for the film industry. I walked out of Tenet questioning my reality and what the potential is for time itself. It asks the questions that lie somewhere between free will and predestination.
Nolan’s ambition behind Tenet may have viewers split on this experience. This is a movie to the Nolan movie to the Nth degree (a Nolanth degree, if you will). Much like Dunkirk, dialogue is a secondary focus and it’s frustrating to not hear every verbal clue. The movie emphasizes the environmental noise and Ludwig Göransson’s score so much that necessary exposition is completely lost. It almost feels like Nolan has gone away from the critical dialogue found in his earlier work and is now moving to silent films, just telling a story through imagery. All this said, I can’t wait to watch this one with subtitles.
It may be too soon for many to feel comfortable in movie theaters, but Tenet was my reason to venture back. Even after 2 1/2 hours, it begs me to go back and see it again. Was I just as confused as I was captivated? Yes. Time, and repeat viewings, will tell if this belongs up there with Nolan masterpieces, but for now I have more curiosity than before I started watching it. B+
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