Have you ever pondered how current actions impact the events of the future, or how one different variable can alter the events going forward? Maybe you’ve contemplated if it were possible to use time to go back and eradicate a moment from happening? There are so many questions about it, but time truly is an unknowable concept, and the possibilities it creates may never be fully controlled.
Christopher Nolan’s new film, Tenet, takes everything you know, and everything you think you know, about time and changes it by offering a glimpse at the potential of the power the construct of time holds.
Whether accurate or not, this film hammers a new question into your mind that cannot be erased: Can the future interact with the past? In the film, John David Washington and Robert Pattinson act as agents who work for a secret organization that operates on the rim of time and society. Their goal is simple: stop the end of the world. More specifically, they are after a Russian nationalist and arms dealer (Kenneth Branagh), who is using information from the future to harm the societies of the present.
While too many concepts reviewed would spoil some of the plot reveals in the film, it is important to understand that while Tenet is a secret society, it is also a passphrase that would “open the right doors and some of the wrong ones, too.”
Nolan is a master at creating new concepts and expanding existing ones, but most of the time, he does it with dialogue and events that make it understandable to the viewer. This is not the case in Tenet, as there are many concepts related to time that are forced into the minds of the viewers in ways that are not as obvious; blink, and you’ll miss it type of explanations.
On top of that, this film demands the utmost attention from its audience, as it gives you the puzzle pieces but requires you to complete it. Mix this type of delivery with the multiple concepts it introduces and you get a film that can be confusing to think about during the viewing.
However, this is not a critique, for, unlike some of my colleagues, I was absolutely floored by the film. Through the ways in which my mind works, what some found confusing nonsense, I found as brilliantly articulated. The process of filming is incredibly mind-boggling, as there are scenes where everything is normal, everything is backward or some things are moving forward while others are moving backward, both shown in the same shot.
Also, the writing is masterful, as it sets up ideas in the beginning that aren’t fully realized until the end of the film, leaving the audience with different reactions for a single idea repeated multiple times.
Washington and Pattinson are perfectly cast, and while their performances won’t be in the running for awards, they are irreplaceable and essential to the success of this film. Their best scenes are when they are acting beside each other, as the writing gives them the best moments and plot twists. In regards to the villain, Branagh plays him quite well, but through no fault of the actor, he is more used for spectacle scenes than for dialogue scenes, giving him a more forgettable role.
Other supporting actors, such as Michael Caine and Elizabeth Debicki, are good for their limited appearances, but it is felt that the removal of their characters would do little to stop the progression of the protagonists.
There is this idea of recency bias, which is the principle that someone who just experienced a great event will choose it as the best thing they have experienced, even if in hindsight it isn’t. While tempting to fall for the lure of recency bias, it is not the case, in this situation, when I say that Tenet is a masterpiece and one of the best films in recent memory. I foresee this as becoming instantly recognizable with the identity of Christopher Nolan, as it is the product of the mixture of many of his previous concepts/films.
It is true that this film can be over-the-top confusing and a sensory overload, but I would argue that it is purposefully this way, for time itself is not something that can be easily grasped and understood. So, with my mind blown and my appetite for Nolan’s ideas growing, I humbly recommend that everyone should witness this film, if you have the time.
