Tenent, Movie Review

“Tenet”

Release Date: September 3, 2020

Runtime: 150 mins

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Starring: John David Washington

               Robert Pattinson

              Elizabeth Debicki

             Kenneth Branagh

When I chose my seat yesterday for a showing of  “Tenet” last night, I came out of the box thinking. Obviously, I was going to see this cinematic event on the biggest screen and the best sound system within a reasonable distance; however, no theaters in Oklahoma have the projector equipment to display films in the 35mm or 70mm format.

From what I have heard, seeing movies like this is really quite the experience. Anyways, to get just as good of a result, I decided not to do the normal thing and choose a seat in the middle of the auditorium. Instead, I sat in the row fourth closest to the screen. This way, I could at least pretend like I was getting the same all-encompassing experience. 

I have to say, I had an experience, though it was not the kind I wanted. For starters, I did not account for the possibility that a fly would be attracted to the light of the screen and, since I was so close, would interrupt my attention at numerous points throughout the film. What really caught me off guard was something no genius-level seat choice could have prevented. “Tenet” cast me into the depths of confusion and the beautiful cinematography, excellent score and mind-blowing action set-pieces were not enough to get me out of it.

One reason I suspect I had this response has to do with the sound mixing in “Tenet.” Essentially, sound mixing involves taking the various audio tracks in a movie—dialogue, score, background noise, sound effects—and bringing them to levels where everything is audible, but nothing drowns anything out. 

When this is done poorly, you might not be able to hear what characters are saying because the score is too loud or because waves crashing overpowers the sounds of their voices. “Tenet” had this problem in spades. For a movie about complex time manipulation, if not direct time travel, not being to hear what characters are saying can get you lost quickly.

I have been confused during movies before and gave them a second watch at the soonest opportunity. Confusion can be a good thing. It can leave you curious and excited to dive back in with the knowledge of the bigger picture. “Tenet” left me more than just confused though, it left me uninvested. 

Of course, the exquisitely choreographed and shot action scenes kept my attention, but I certainly would have enjoyed them much more if I had a firm understanding of why they were happening. Christopher Nolan has built a career out of telling complex, cerebral stories, but I was still able to tell what was going on even if the story was being told backward or on different levels of consciousness.

 The fact that “Tenet” gets into complex ideas in the realms of theoretical physics is hardly an excuse. Nolan is gifted enough as a storyteller to incorporate those ideas into a movie that is both interesting and comprehensible to a person devoting their entire attention to it. The visuals, action, and music are all here, but I think the story and characters could have used some more work. 

I know I literally just said I did not see any point in seeing “Tenet” for a second time, but that was a little dishonest. The action in “Tenet” is something I almost want to see on the big screen a second time before it is too late. There is also this sneaking suspicion that maybe I am totally wrong on this one and seeing the movie again will completely change my mind. I know that is likely not to happen, though. Perhaps I will wait for a couple of intriguing online theories to sprout up before I decide to revisit it.

This makes it quite a bit easier for my position ethically as a film critic during an active pandemic with theaters deciding to reopen. You should not feel obliged to see “Tenet” in theaters if you do not feel comfortable being in that setting yet. Most positive reviews I have read fully admit to the confusing aspects, but claim the spectacle more than makes up for it. I happen to disagree. There is not going to be much competition at all as far as other theater releases go for the next month or more, so you will have plenty of time to see it if you change your mind.