Tenet

Summary

“All I have for you is a gesture in combination with a word – ‘Tenet.’ It’ll open the right doors, some of the wrong ones too.”

I have been enamored with Christopher Nolan’s filmmaking since I went with my mother to catch a screening of Memento at the Market Street Cinema (which is long gone) when I was sixteen years old. That film gave the first indication that Nolan was interested in time and how it relates to storytelling. With Inception, Nolan was able to push further into time constructs and show exactly what his team could do with a budget that matched their Dark Knight trilogy. In Interstellar, Nolan dealt with time in order to deliver an emotionally poignant story of loss. Tenet is arguably Nolan’s most ambitious film to date. This film deals with time and the story’s timelines in ways that will leave audiences enthralled, confused, or a mixture of both. From reading the online reviews, it is obvious that this is Nolan’s most polarizing film to date. Overwhelmingly, critics enjoyed the film, but at least one third of the critics and audience who saw the film found the experience frustrating. In talks with friends, it was mentioned that the plot was impossible to follow. While I definitely found the plot difficult, I did not experience the same dizzying inability to follow the action onscreen that others described. I honestly can only thank my love of Philip K. Dick novels for preparing me for the concept of time to be played with on such a large scale. My recommendation would be that with each scene that occurs in the film, allow the scene to play out before you attempt to understand what significance the scene plays. There are numerous scenes where the Protagonist meets characters and discusses things that play into the plot but are not entirely understandable on first viewing. Just soak up the information and move along, because everything will play out in a big way in the finale of the film. 

As the film begins, the Protagonist (John David Washington) survives an incredibly unique attack that takes place in an opera house. In the attack, he witnesses a bullet that flies out of a seat in a backwards motion. After the attack, he is captured and interrogated. Resisting their questioning, he manages to swallow his suicide capsule. This was essentially a test of his will. He has been recruited into an agency that seeks to save the world from what has happened and what will happen. On an icebreaker ship on the ocean, he is given a code word –  “Tenet” which should allow him to gain access to areas that would be otherwise off limits to him. Employing the word, the Protagonist meets with a ballistic analyst that shows him what the world faces – munitions that have been inverted. Essentially, a device is allowing objects to reverse cause and effect. Working with his handler Neil (Robert Pattinson,) the Protagonist begins to traverse the globe in an attempt to locate the source of the inverted munitions. This leads him eventually to Kat (Elizabeth Penicki) and her unhappy union with Russian oligarch Sator (Kenneth Branagh.)

Tenet is essentially a mixture of a science fiction film along the lines of Edge of Tomorrow and Minority Report, and a spy thriller in the tradition of James Bond. I tried to leave as much of the film’s plot machinations out of my plot synopsis as possible so that the film can be properly experienced by the viewer. This is easily one of the most difficult films to follow that I have ever experienced, but I feel convinced that all of it makes sense. The premise of the film is clever – cause and effect are reversed. The execution is brilliant – especially the stunning second half of the film that pays off on the premise in big ways. I can understand why people would complain about the convoluted nature of the plot, but I also feel like we should applaud cinema for challenging our intellect and for attempting things that on their face are impossible. The world that Nolan and his team capably bring to life is completely impossible from a physics standpoint, but it is so capably shot and fully realized that it feels real. I also can understand why people criticized Nolan’s propensity to have characters essentially explain the rules of the world and what their motivations are so often throughout the course of this film and Inception, but in my opinion the concepts that he explores are so dense that these explanations from characters are necessary. I don’t feel like it is sloppy writing, when it is much easier to have a character walk the audience through issues than it is to attempt to explain the physics and motivations of the characters in the film otherwise. Basically, if you like Christopher Nolan films this is his most challenging and audacious work yet. if you dislike Christopher Nolan films, this is his most challenging and audacious work yet. Make a choice on whether you want to check it out or not based on that endorsement or warning.

Nolan and his team worked with a $200 million dollar budget and watching the film it feels like every single penny of that budget made it onto the screen. I can’t think of a major motion picture in years that has come close to the scope of work put into Tenet. The fight scenes in the film look unlike anything else that I have ever seen. They have a lot to be proud of and it obviously took an incredible amount of work. In fact, that is probably what I appreciated the most about Tenet. Every single detail of the film has been pondered over with precision and accomplished with a singular focus with no short cuts. The amount of practical effects used in the film versus CGI lends so much to the overall feel of the film. None of those effects were easy. The stunt choreography in the film could have been faked much more easily than being accomplished all in camera. The large scale set pieces are extraordinary. There is no moment in the film that did not take a tremendous amount of work to accomplish and could not be accomplished with a smaller crew or without the massive amount of resources that were at their disposal.

The film makes great use of locations in London, Estonia, Norway, Mumbai, the United States, and most notably the Amalia Coast of Italy. This is the globetrotting epic cinematic experience we all deserve for our damn depressing insular 2020 year. It was a breath of fresh air to experience some other places around the globe, even if it was from the comfort of my couch. The cinematography of the film by Hoyte van Hoytema is absolutely phenomenal. Utilizing 65mm cameras and IMAX cameras, the film fills the screen with an amazing amount of detail to tremendous effect. Film still has the power to deliver much more than digital is capable of achieving in terms of fine detail, and Tenet is absolutely stunning visually.

In terms of acting, John David Washington does a capable job in the role of the Protagonist. The role needed an actor with a certain amount of stamina and strength, and his football player past helps in his role. He plays the part with a quiet self-assurance that works. Robert Pattinson has really impressed me over the last decade with his roles in independent films, and this film gives him a chance to show what he can do in a blockbuster that doesn’t involve being a vampire that dates high school chicks. I am happy that Pattinson has found his calling for more serious fare and it gives me high hopes for his turn in The Batman next year. Elizabeth Debicki is well cast, delivering a well tuned chilly performance as the emotionally abused Kat. She has tons of potential as an actress. Kenneth Branagh plays the menacing Sator effectively. His ability to play Iago in Othello, lends itself to his role as the villain of the film. It is not an easy role, calling for him to speak with a Russian accent convincingly while performing all of the demands of the script. Overall, there are no weak links in the chain.

Overall – Tenet is definitely going to be a divisive film. There are certain aspects of the film that probably could have been cast aside (such as the main character being called Protagonist, some of the unnecessary exposition by characters) but overall the film is a triumph of the exacting technical imagination of Christopher Nolan. For myself, this was some of the most fun I had watching a film this year and the concepts of the film invaded my dreams. I loved it. Highly recommended.

Video

Tenet is one of the most incredible looking 4K UHD releases on the market. The film was shot in 65MM and with IMAX cameras, so the aspect ratio attempts to match that by switching between aspect ratios of 1.78:1 and 2.20:1. Warner Bros has given the film a 4K HEVC/H.265 encoded transfer with HDR10. The film looks absolutely fantastic. This film may have the most detail and depth that I have seen yet on the format. Take my word when I say that this is a visual triumph for the format and one of the best reasons to own a UHD player. 

Audio

Warner Bros. have provided a demo quality DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. The track absolutely explodes through the speakers with one of the most aggressive sound designs. The music blows through the speakers from the beginning of the film and only lets up occasionally. It replicates the original theatrical sound design capably. That said – I had read numerous people discussing that it was difficult to hear what the characters are saying in the film due to the music overtaking them. I experienced this as well and so did my brother. I was not as bothered by this as some people, but will warn you that you are not crazy if you experience this as well. My recommendation would be to put of the subtitles for certain scenes where dialogue is hard to hear.

Supplements:

Warner Bros have provided a Blu-ray disc housing the special features for the film.

• Looking at the World in a New Way – this piece is a little over and hour and fifteen minutes long and looks through every facet of the production of Tenet. Featuring extensive interviews with Christopher Nolan, the cast, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, and many more, this is a really well constructed piece on the making of the film.
• Theatrical Trailers
• Theatrical Teaser

Overall Scores: 

Video – 5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 4/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Tenet is one of the most difficult films that Christopher Nolan has ever crafted. It will appeal to as many people as it bewilders, but I personally loved it. The 4K UHD presentation of Tenet is absolutely stunning. Visually, this is the best release this year on the format. The sound design is demo-quality and absolutely rips through the speakers to deliver thunderous sound, but it is hard to hear what the characters say at times. I hope that in the future Nolan will focus on making sure that the sound levels allow his characters to be heard slightly better, but that is a minor quibble when considering the level of technical mastery on display in the film. For myself, I loved Tenet and plan to return to the film in the future. It’s convoluted and hard to follow at times, but it is rewarding to see something totally different attempted onscreen. Fans of the film will need to purchase this amazing UHD release.