“Tenet” Review

Robert Pattinson (Left) and John David Washington star in “Tenet,” Christopher Nolan’s latest mind-bending thriller.

Christopher Nolan is one of those filmmakers, like Quentin Tarantino and David Fincher, that loves to take his time with his craft. When I watched “Dunkirk” back in 2017, I was elated by Nolan’s war film masterpiece but was also distraught to learn I’d have to wait three years to watch another one of his films. However, after seeing “Tenet” twice in an actual theater, this film was well worth the wait even if it was a longer wait than any of us could possibly imagine.

Telling a tale of science fiction espionage, “Tenet” follows an unnamed man called The Protagonist (John David Washington) who becomes recruited by the titular agency after a near-death experience. The Protagonist comes across another agent named Neil (Robert Pattinson) and the pair go on a high-stakes mission to prevent the destruction of mankind while manipulating their perception of time.

John David Washington and Robert Pattinson’s performances are nothing short of remarkable with both actors continuing to leave their mark on cinema. Washington is meant to represent the audience as both he and us are introduced to the world of spies. While not the most complex character, The Protagonist engages the audience and his dialogue manages to make the plot more digestible.

Pattinson, to this day, still gets unfair criticism for his roles in the “Twilight” films, but those same critics forget that the past few years have seen Pattinson deliver several outstanding performances in “Good Time,” “High Life” and “The Lighthouse.” This performance that he delivers in a mainstream film makes me feel excited for his turn as The Dark Knight in 2021’s “The Batman.”

Kenneth Branagh also stars as Andrei Sator, the film’s main villain, and his performance manages to go from subtle to over-the-top in an instant. With some actors, that would result in a distracting, uneven performance but Branagh manages to balance out the extremes to create a worthy adversary for The Protagonist.

By far the best performance of the film comes from Elizabeth Debicki who plays Kat Barton, Andrei’s physically and mentally abused wife who becomes embroiled in The Protagonist’s journey. Her character is the heart of the film and her journey towards empowerment also makes her a worthy contender for Best Supporting Actress this awards season.

Elizabeth Debicki’s supporting role in “Tenet” makes for the best character in the film.

The film’s casting is so on-point that even smaller roles still add a lot of atmosphere towards the story. Himesh Patel, fresh off of his break-out role in “Yesterday,” appears as a fixer who masterminds a few of The Protagonist’s assignments and he makes for an interesting piece of the film’s cast. Michael Caine, a regular star of Nolan films, has a short appearance as well but anything he says instantly sounds brilliant thanks to his signature voice.

One constant of Nolan’s filmography is his use of practical effects in the place of computer generated imagery (CGI). Nolan knows that filmgoers have gotten too used to computer effects and that we can spot the difference. So, when a plane is crashed in this film, Nolan bought a Boeing 747 and drove it into the side of a building. 

This constant use of practical effects makes it more difficult to spot computer generated ones to the point where I was fooled by some of the CGI Effects and thought they were really happening on-screen.

One of the most difficult elements of the story to bring to life is the use of inversion or reversing an object's entropy/flow through time. In the film, the use of inversion plays heavily into the plot with bullets, objects and even people moving backwards in time. Not only is this worked into the story quite well but it is brought to the big screen with good effects and the commitment of the film’s stunt team.

While both Washington and Pattinson did their own stunts, the efforts of the entire stunt team should be recognized. There are moments in the film where one person who’s moving forward through time is fighting with one who’s inverted. This kind of complicated fight is marvelous to watch and there’s never a moment of disbelief. With The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences pushing for diversity in its awards, as they should, why haven’t the efforts of stunt people earned Oscars?

Among the film’s practical effects is where an actual Boeing 747 was crashed into the side of an airplane hangar.

One aspect of this film that is going to divide audiences is the film’s plot which many have said is too confusing. While I agree that the plot is confusing, that’s the point because time is moving backwards and forwards at different points for The Protagonist. 

The film itself is a jigsaw puzzle and only when completed can one see the whole picture and admire it. Too often do films talk down to their audiences like children, but this is a film that treats its audience with respect and demands that they pay attention to the plot which, as per usual with Nolan, is never predictable.

This script in particular took Nolan five years to write after conceiving the ideas for decades and the effort clearly shows.

Unlike most Nolan films, “Tenet” wasn’t scored by Hans Zimmer due to his work on “Dune.” Instead, the score was composed by Ludwig Görranson who recently won an Oscar for “Black Panther” and an Emmy for “The Mandalorian.” His body of work proves that he is an upcoming master whose name will soon be mentioned with John Williams and Bernard Hermann if it hasn’t already.

Nolan’s frequent director of photography, Hoyte van Hoytema, returned as cinematographer and his imagery is jaw-dropping. The decision to shoot on 70MM film with IMAX format not only gives a sense of grandeur, but also gives a realistic look. Nothing looks as real as an object photographed 24 times a second on tangible film and Hoytema and Nolan understand it perfectly. 

The film is also well edited with Jennifer Lame, a frequent collaborator with Noah Baumbach and Ari Aster, working with Nolan for the first time. From frame one, there is a constant sense of tension and it only grows stronger as the film continues. Even the quiet scenes of dialogue still have a sense of action with the way Lame cuts from shot to reverse-shot.

One of the most divisive parts of the film for me is the sound mixing which, at times, makes dialogue difficult to hear. One the one hand, the mixing being loud kind of the point. It’s all there to make you as a viewer feel like you’re in a situation with explosions and gunfire. 

However, when it’s difficult to hear what the characters say at times, the loud noises should have been lessened. This criticism has been surrounding Nolan’s films since either “The Dark Knight Rises” or “Interstellar” so it’s safe to say that Nolan will continue to have this in his films.

With COVID-19 closing theaters for months, this is the film that made me feel excited to be back at the cinema. It’s difficult to say if it’s Nolan’s best film because of how well the others have stood over the years. Only time will tell how well this film lasts but, for right now, “Tenet” is an amazing spectacle from a true “auteur.” 

“Tenet” is a film not meant to be seen at home, it’s meant for cinemas. It’s a film that is ambitious in every sense of the word.