A title with so many connotations – of course, it speaks to the fascinating time tinkering found in Christopher Nolan’s new film Tenet, but it also refers to a pre-Covid time. . . a place where people nonchalantly made the trek to movie theatres where packed crowds would communally enjoy the newest blockbusters. Whether Tenet will be able to turn back time and safely fill cinemas during this new normal is yet to be seen.
A mesmeric and visually stunning spectacle that finds Nolan playing within his favourite themes, Tenet is clearly self-indulgent, yet not to its own detriment. Following up works like Memento, The Prestige, Inception, Interstellar, and, to a lesser degree, Dunkirk, Tenet, for lack of a better description, is a sort of password. . . an entry by fire into a small group of people who are attempting to prevent World War III. It is a CIA agent simply known as The Protagonist (John David Washington – BlacKkKlansman), who is introduced into this precarious, mind-bending new world.
Tasked with using the titular word to track down the purveyor of ‘inverted’ objects, these items travel backwards through time. . . for instance, bullets lodged in walls return to your gun – even more dangerous and harmful than when they were first fired.
Helped by a number of people who seemingly only understand a small piece of the puzzle, including scientist Laura (Clémence Poésy – In Bruges), a mysterious arms dealer named Priya (Dimple Kapadia), and longtime intelligence officer Sir Michael Crosby (Michael Caine – his eighth film with Christopher Nolan), he is eventually paired with the unknown Neil (Robert Pattinson – The Lost City of Z), and they learn that people from the future are transporting this inverted technology to a chosen man in the now, arms dealer Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh – Dunkirk). . . and it just so happens that our protagonist’s only way in may be the man’s estranged yet trapped wife Kat (Elizabeth Debicki – The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) – an art auctioneer whose son is being held by the exceedingly dangerous man.
At two and a half hours, Tenet is, perhaps, just a touch too long, but it is worth it nonetheless. Centred on several twisty action sequences, Nolan wisely uses no green screens, rather, he utilizes practical effects and his actors own skills (at doing things both normally and backwards). At times nearly incomprehensible to the human mind, you’ll be scratching your head during car chases where vehicles are driving in reverse at full speed while tracking a car going in the right direction; or be baffled by the fact you see a real 747 airplane crashing through a hangar while the action unfolds in both forward fashion as well as rewind; while the opening opera scene and multi-layered climactic sequence will remind some of a Mission: Impossible/James Bond-like action experience unspooling in two different directions.
Bringing up some pretty heavy questions, Nolan looks into both fate and predestination, whether reversing time can change the present or future, twisted moments of déjà vu, and how every person can see themselves as the heroic protagonist. Well, after seeing the lineage that this film has emanated from, it is really no shocker that Nolan has once again made us think of these little-thought-of questions.
Only fitting that the film’s title is a palindrome. . . that is, a word that reads the same both forwards and backwards, Tenet is rather complex (I would say a second viewing would not hurt – you’ll definitely piece everything together more easily after knowing what to look for), can at times be hard to understand (thankfully we are now used to listening to people who have a mask over their mouth – this happens relatively frequently in the motion picture), and is filled with its own unique language (and I’m not simply talking about the film’s lingo – the actors actually learned how to speak in reverse for several important sequences), yet I don’t think viewers would have it any other way. It is all part of the intricately packed and wrapped package, a box that you’ll have to look both inside and think out of. . . in fact, you might be questioning whether it is best described as a square at all, perhaps it is circular, linear, or some other shape yet to be understood. After all, time doesn’t stand still, especially when you’re jumping around in it. I’d also like to reference part of the ending (without giving much away): it is, in a weird way, a warped tribute to a scene from Casablanca. . . a moment that will make you think about what we think we know and maybe don’t. Lastly, I can’t forget to give another mention to the actors. . . superb performances from each and every cast member. So, dive into this inverted twister, and hopefully you’ll be able to string it all together.