Figuring "Tenet" Out Is a Struggle, But Nolan's Latest Time Warping Exercise is an Enthralling Experience Nonetheless

“Don’t try to understand it. Feel it.” It’s a piece of advice offered to John David Washington’s character, The Protagonist, as he tries to comprehend the relationship between “intuition” and the unnatural behavior of a bullet moving backwards through time. Though the suggestion is aimed at The Protagonist, it simultaneously acts as director Christopher Nolan's message to first time viewers of Tenet. All viewers need to understand is the journey they’re about to embark on conducts time in a way they’ve never imagined. And Nolan pulls this feat off with mind blowing proficiency.

What Tenet excels at is its incredible production value. Supporting the unfurling mystery, ominous tone, and spy-thriller genre tropes is the logistical challenge of planning and pulling off key moments - even entire sequences - both forwards and backwards believably. And with Nolan’s notorious demand for practical effects, what’s achieved with bringing this spectacle of a film together is nothing less than astonishing.

Emotional aptitude, however, is not a major component of the objective with Tenet, which might be a disappointing factor to some considering how capable Nolan is at interweaving crucial relationships into complex narratives, like in Inception and Interstellar. But me…I’m here for the mind game. And in that regard, Tenet absolutely delivers with remarkable mainstream appeal for such an exposition-heavy presentation.

I won’t shy away from admitting that I don’t fully understand everything that happens in the film yet. Tenet practically requires multiple viewing, and this is done by design. It's nearly impossible to piece the whole puzzle together in one viewing, but enough falls into place that when the conclusion happens, most audiences will walk away satisfied with getting the gist of it.

So the first time around, don’t try understanding Tenet. Just feel it. The experience is complete enough to resolve in a meaningful way. But do see it a second time. And a third time. Maybe even a fourth. It’s easy to see how Tenet can make more sense the more it’s watched, making it a tantalizing welcome back for moviegoers returning to movie theaters.

MoviesThomas Stoneham-JudgeSeptember 1, 2020tenet, movie review, christopher nolanComment