Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan. Released by Warner Bros. Runtime: 150 Minutes.
28th August 2020 (Released 26th August 2020)
The Pitch: A secret agent embarks on a dangerous, time-bending mission to prevent the start of World War III.
Christopher Nolan's latest is an interesting beast, not just because it moves his film-making deeper into true science-fiction territory than ever before, but because this was the film that was going to save cinema as we knew it. After months of closed auditoriums, deactivated websites, and release-date Jenga, it all comes down to this: Back to the future directed by Michael Mann. Look, let's be serious. No film should have to bear the weight of the future of cinema before it plays. It's fine to hyperbolically label films that after the fact and then get laughed at down the line. But to stick all that one one film, even one directed by one of the modern masters? It's too much. It shows in the reviews, too. Where previously Nolan would have breezed through with four or five-star accolades across the board, here he seems to be squeaking past with two and three star missives in some major publications. And they're wrong in my book.
NOLAN MAKES SURE HIS FILMS ARE ABOUT THE EMOTIONAL CORE OF THE JOURNEY
First off, we have to address something: No, Tenet is not a sequel to Inception just because some of the cast members are nominally businessmen who wear sharp suits and carry guns. I think this rumour started just because people are desperate for shared universes from top-tier talent, a mistake I feel. To have stand-alone originality in a sea of referential, interconnected works is breath of fresh air. Something that will come in, blow the cobwebs away and breathe new life into the big-budget arena. Especially since the comic book movie slate is going to be geared top a few short weeks across October and November. I can't tell you how happy I was that this movie was it's own thing. Now that's out of the way, it does beg the question.. what the hell is it about? Armageddon? Time travel? Russian gangsters? And time travel? Of course not. It's a Nolan film. Despite being one of the coldest film-makers around, walking casually through Hollywood in a nice scarf and carrying a reusable flask of tea, like a benevolent Night King, Nolan makes sure his film are about the emotional core of the character's journey first. And he's warming up as he gets older. I mean, I cried in a couple of places during The Dark Knight Rises.
THE FILM IS ABOUT PACIFISM VERSUS VIOLENCE WRAPPED IN THE BODY ARMOUR OF A SCI-FI ACTIONER
What Nolan has done is take a film about having to make choices – between pacifism and violence, one life versus millions – and wrap it in a complex science fiction body armour. We're presented with two characters (in John David Washington and Kenneth Branagh), one who wants to work against his nature as a man of violence and one who has embraced his. So much so that it's poisoned his life to it's core, affecting not only his relationships in the present but his future and past as well. It's an interesting after-effect of the film that you realise the most fascinating character in it isn't Washington's unnamed 'Protagonist', but Branagh's nihilistic Oligarch, Sator. Taken as a whole and in retrospect (because how else would you look at a film that appears to be about time-travel?), Branagh's actions tower over the film and it's players. Branagh carries the weight and temperament well. Washington is a man who desperately wants to save lives and doesn't want to have to choose between the many or the few. Surprisingly, for a film in the big-budget sci-fi/ action arena, there are very few deaths – at least until the finale – Almost as if Nolan was taking the Batman maxim of 'no killing' to heart. Maybe pacifist blockbusters are what we need as fiction moves from grim-dark to hope-punk.
WASHINGTON IS A RELAXED ACTOR - LANGUID AND CASUAL
Of course, Washington's performance is the film's anchor. Seeing him in Ballers over the last couple of years and now this, I've come to realise what a physically relaxed actor he is. Languid and casual. All the tension is in his eyes and his voice. It's a great performance. Washington let's the film's bizarre hook wash over him, accepting it, getting in sync with the concept. Robert Pattinson is a pleasure to watch as Washington's fellow secret agent, Neil. Foppish and breezy, but never losing sense of the very real struggles he faces. Pattinson is fast becoming a favourite of mine. He's emotionally engaging whilst being an excellent physical actor with range to boot. This makes The Batman an all the more appealing prospect. Elizabeth Debicki is also excellent in her role as Branagh's trophy wife, Kat. A prize all the more valuable to because she has intellect and talent, attributes not always applied to these types of relationships in either fiction or real life Speaking of real life, one cannot go without mentioning Nolan's commitment to the reality of the film. Not to say it represents the real world, especially considering it's core, sci-fi conceit, but that the physical reality of the scenes is upheld. In fact it's upheld a little too well, making the spectacle almost impossible to take in. The action is superbly handled, making you thing digital trickery was involved, a notion that's hastily dispelled by the Imax cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema and the solid weight of it all. Kudos also has to go to long-time Nolan collaborator Nathan Crowley, whose production design add a realistic polish to the film's Bondian globe-trotting locales. Surprisingly the music is supplied by Ludwig Göransson, whose hip-hop baselines and experimental skill give a perfect meter to the action. Though one misses Hans Zimmer, Göransson fills the space admirably.
SCOPE IS WHAT NOLAN DOES
There is more to be said about the film, including my only gripe: That perhaps given the emotional notes playing on the discrete channel, the film could have been less noisy. It almost needed to be something on a scale between Nolan's Insomnia remake and Batman Begins. A little more stripped back. Not that I'm complaining, really. Scope is what Nolan does, expanding the worlds of his characters as their experiential danger mounts. He's a director that knows how to unify time, place, plot and character better than most. Everything else I want to say about the film would violate its discretion and I believe the film is richer for you not knowing. Essentially, no spoilers. Ain't nobody got time for that.