A few weeks ago I watched Wall-E and as is often the case with Pixar movies, it ended with me crying. It’s a simple, high concept, character driven science fiction story that gets you high on emotion . The plot itself is straightforward: (spoilers for Wall-E) find the plant and bring it to a part of the spaceship that will signal humanity’s return to earth.
As a movie, Tenet moves in a direction opposite to Wall-E. Tons of plot with very little emotion. Tenet scratches an entirely different itch and I loved every moment of it. It’s a brain movie, not a heart movie, although even then, it’s not saying anything truly profound. What’s really exciting about this movie and Nolan in general, is it’s an opportunity to see something completely new. It’s not a sequel, a prequel, a Marvel or a DC. It’s a new concept, a completely original take on a sci-fi concept and that alone makes it my favourite movie of the year so far.
Much has been made about how complicated the movie is and for some people that might be part of the fun. If you strap in committed to trying to piece together Nolan’s latest action movie puzzle it will definitely keep you engaged. That said, I would argue that there are different levels to this movie, most of which don’t require an understanding of the minutiae of the plot. For the most part, Tenet is a spy thriller with a fascinating science fiction element thrown in, namely something the movie calls time inversion. Early in the movie, John David Washington’s character has the movie’s version of James Bond’s ‘Q’ explain to him that the organization they are working for has been finding objects that are travelling backward in time. Bullets are leaping into guns, explosions become implosions. . . You can . . . unpunch (?) guys. It’s cool to watch. Take all of that away and it’s really just a story about a spy tracking down an arms dealers. There's a few twists in there that make this a movie like no other, but if you just start with that simple baseline, the rest of the movie isn't so impenetrable.
Before I go on with the review it seems customary for reviewers of Tenet to disclose their Chris Nolan fanboy credentials. I am a medium to high Chris Nolan fanboy. I love the Dark Knight trilogy, even Dark Knight Rises. I think Memento and Prestige are brilliant movies. Interstellar was very good but loses me as we approach the three hour mark. But here’s where my fanboyism falls short: I don’t really like Inception. I honestly think it’s a good movie, well put together with great story and decent character work but I can’t, no matter how much I want to, no matter how much I try, get on board with the concept. I have bought the movie and every now and then I’ll try and watch it and I’ll make it as far as the scene with the skiing and the shooting and then I check out and/or fall asleep. But that’s just me. Dreams don’t work like that! You can’t convince me otherwise! Sorry! I want to enjoy Inception with the rest of you.
Back to Tenet, the concept of time inversion and the way it’s explained isn’t much better than dreams within dreams gimmick in Inception, (I don’t think entropy means what you want it to mean, Chris Nolan) but, it’s not so broken that I can’t get on board with the movie. Every scene in Tenet keeps me wanting more. I want to understand more. I want to see the next mind boggling set piece.
A lot has been made about the lack of emotion and character and I think this is a valid criticism. But that simply isn’t the itch Tenet is trying to scratch. Again, this movie is about selling us on a concept. John David Washington is only ever called “the Protagonist” (anyone read Snow Crash?). Thematically, I guess this is relevant to the movie but it also informs the purpose of the character in this story. He’s more a vessel for viewers to live out a James Bondian power fantasy and it really does feel like the movie is shot for us to live vicariously through him rather than to examine and understand the guy. (There’s even a scene at the end with a red team and a blue team that I thought might be a deliberate reference to video games)
Regardless, Washington has a swagger and charisma that make him a very entertaining action hero. Still, either as a result of the script or his own acting chops, most of what he does never has the gripping intensity or desperation you would expect from an action movie that wants to bring its characters through a compelling arc.
Which leaves his co-stars Robert Pattison and the tallest woman on earth with the job of injecting some humour and heart into the story. Robert Pattison is Neil, the Protagonist’s handler, who has his own swagger and charm and is extremely likable throughout. Debicki plays Kat, the heart of the movie who’s motivation revolves around protecting her son and escaping the abuse of her estranged husband, the malevolent Andrei Sator, played by a moustache twirling Kenneth Branaugh.
Great performances across the board. I think the movie would have been stronger if they cemented the relationship between the Protagonist and Kat. That said, a popular fan theory explains why a lot of what is between them can’t be developed without giving the movie away. Still, just one really strong scene that sells us on why the Protagonist cares about Kat would have really gone a long way.
I love the action in this movie. Leave it to Nolan to show you something you’ve never seen before. He’s not the kind of guy who is just going to go through the motions of an action movie. Yes, things go backward, but just seeing the spectacle isn’t the reward, it’s actually the revelations that come in these big action scenes. Crashing the plane into a hangar is arguably the most boring and pointless part of the movie. But, enjoy the lightbulbs that will click in your head as the movie evolves. Is it complicated? It sure is and if that’s not for you, may as well stay clear of the movie altogether.
One complaint that you may have already heard of is the horrible sound mixing in the movie. Not only are you straining to catch every line coming out of their mouths so you can stay on board with what is certainly a very convoluted plot, a lot of times the words are drowned out or muffled by what’s going on around the characters. After one exchange on a boat I had to ask myself, “Am I having a stroke?” Later on in the movie, it’s revealed not only that a character is speaking another language (Estonian) but also that they’re speaking backward. Yeah, this isn’t the movie for this kind of crap Nolan, I’m having enough trouble following. On top of that, a high concept movie like this requires lots of explanation which means a lot of “telling” rather than “showing”. Lots of exposition, usually with characters walking around and if I’m not mistaken, not one but two scenes with John and Robert on a bus talking about secret plans while surrounded by people. It’s weird.
But, by now you’ve heard it once, maybe a million times. It’s a movie that will almost certainly get better with a rewatch. If I can find an empty movie theater in the next few weeks I’ll check it out again. Again, don’t go into it looking to have your heartstrings plucked. It’s an action movie, and like all of Nolan’s movies, the meta-context is it’s a movie “about movies”. I’ve seen it put this way. If Inception is a movie about making movies, Tenet is a movie about watching movies.
It’s not for everyone. I’ve heard film critics I respect drag this movie over the coals. But, a saying comes to mind. A friend to everyone, is a friend to no one. By that I mean, I tend to prefer movies that are "divisive". They could have taken this concept and "Disney-fied" it, making it safe, accessible to all and guaranteed universal acclaim. Or they could have made this; a messy experiment that seems to sidestep many of the basic tenets of story-telling (woah . . .). But it is what it is and if that's not the most tepid defense of a movie I've ever made. Nolan knows how to make a movie, he knows the rules of story-telling and filmography and in many cases in this movie, he deliberately dropped a deuce on those rules and made the movie he wanted to make. And as much as I try to talk myself out of loving, I just can’t. I appreciate that for some people this one is just impossible to like, but for me, it may go down as one of my favourite Nolan movies. Expect more posts from me about this in the near future.
9 car un-crashes out of 10. I’d love to write a spoiler answer some day because it’s a movie that’s fun to think about and it stuck with me for the last week and a half.
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