Compared to his commercial success, I’ve often heard very divisive things about Christopher Nolan as a writer/director. Among my own friend group, I am probably his most vocal supporter, with everyone else either considering him entertaining but overly ambitious to a fault or downright pretentious.
While I am a fan of Christopher Nolan’s work, I have been rather cautious with every newer releases as of late. While some of his films have cemented their place in my personal rankings, his recent films have been somewhat of a mixed bag. Most notably, Interstellar left me wishing that he has as much talent in his emotional storytelling as he does in technical filmmaking.
This is not to say that I think he is emotionless in his filmmaking. At his best, Nolan is able to carefully balance technicality and emotions with his artistic decisions in both, creating a cyclical conversation that compliments each other. Inception is probably one of my favorite films of all time precisely because of this reason. It’s just that as of late, there seems to be an imbalance of sorts.
His latest film, Tenet, is about a secret agent caught in an international operation to save the world from a resource that travels temporally backward. In other words, while humans experience and perceive time forwards in one direction, this resource allows objects and humans affected by it to travel directly backward.
I am being intentionally vague with the details because I want to present it the same way that Nolan presents his movies in the trailers. This is a quick elevator pitch that gets you intrigued enough to get through the door without compromising the surprises waiting in store.
If there is one thing that Tenet does, it surprises me. I’m sure I am not the only person in this day and age that often feels tired by what is presented to us. Even the stories that I thoroughly enjoy, I often find that I can guess the events before they happen. My natural inclination as a filmgoer demands that I practice a certain amount of suspension of disbelief as a ritual in immersion. This often results in my enjoying certain moments for their execution rather than their genuine ability to surprise.
Perhaps, this is why I still try to watch every Christopher Nolan film in the theatres (global pandemics not-withstanding). His premises are always intriguing enough that they get me to buy a ticket. In some ways, he always offers something that made the purchase of that ticket worth it. Even Interstellar, which is a film I rank lower on the Nolan tier list, still has enough in it that warrants at least one viewing, especially on the big screen.
Nolan’s usual trademarks are here. His love and reverence for classic spy thrillers (also present in Inception), a stylistic cocktail of vintage and modern aesthetics, exotic locales, architecture reminiscent of art deco science fiction, and an interesting twist that takes this otherwise modern thriller into an elevated state.
However, Nolan’s weaknesses are just as present in Tenet as his strengths. Some people will not be a fan of his characters, who often act more as meta-commentary on film theory rather than people. As a result, Nolan’s dialogue can feel much more in service to explaining the mechanics of the film rather than as a way to explore the characters.
Nolan tends to balance interesting characters with a puzzle box of a film but in Tenet, he has decided to fully invest in the latter. If your interest is in that part of Nolan’s filmmaking, then Tenet might be exactly what you are looking for. He seems to have fully invested his efforts in making that mind-bending, cerebral puzzle-box filmmaking his primary focus. I would even argue that for some, the story and characters have always fallen second to this element and while again, I would say that Nolan’s best work balances these two parts, it might be a good way to judge whether you or not you will enjoy this film.
Finally, the sound mixing has been a big point of contention since the film’s release. Many argue that it is mixed horribly and the actor’s dialogue is often inaudible. This is not the first time that Nolan’s sound mixing has been criticized (most notably Bane in Dark Knight Rises). While I can read a certain artistic reason for Tenet’s sound, I also admit that this is a part of the film that I found to be a mixed bag and I will probably be watching the film with subtitles next time. It is definitely an interesting experiment but not one that I ultimately care for.
Not to say that these problems are not small or ignorable (I certainly think they are worth the criticism) and it will be enough to turn some people away from this movie. However, I am not “some people.” I am (biasedly) a Christopher Nolan fan. To me, Tenet is similar to Interstellar in that it is unabashedly Christopher Nolan with both his strengths and weaknesses worn unapologetically on his sleeves.
Unlike Interstellar, however, his strengths are presented here with an aggressive intelligence and it is undeniably entertaining. Still, some will find these elements of the film that I enjoy to be arrogant and pretentious.
Christopher Nolan has definitely found his rhythm as a filmmaker, for better or worse. At this point in his career, you have already made up your mind about his films. You should use these opinions as a metric to predict your potential enjoyment of this movie. While it is not his best film and certainly not without its problems, Tenet reminds me why Christopher Nolan remains a triumphant force in the world of cinema. When Covid restrictions lift, I will definitely be back in theatres for his next feature.
Danger Wonka 