"Tenet" Caught In Its Own Time Loop

After a tumultuous year, “Tenet” may cement it's place in cinematic history - one it never intended. Christopher Nolan's would-be blockbuster will forever be the "film that tried" during the summer of 2020. This time was still just the beginning of the Pandemic, with no vaccine in sight, as well as a summer where Americans, despite the pandemic, took to the streets in the largest wave of protest against police brutality and solidifying the worth of Black lives. That's a lot for one film to try and overcome, and in the end, “Tenet” could not break through. In a normal world, the film would have drawn in hundreds of millions of dollars at box offices. John David Washington's role as the protagonist would have eclipsed his acclaimed role in “BlacKkKlansman.” Tenet would have been Robert Pattinson's large-scale career redefining role. And perhaps Tenet would have made it into the top ranks of Nolan's filmography. All of these scenarios would have been, but in an era of pandemic, civil unrest, and panic, “Tenet’s” fatalistic and meta-cerebral themes that would traditionally be quite escapist instead mirrored real anxieties that were unimaginable during filming in a pre-Covid world. The film itself, while incredibly complex, does not bore. Taking the information and exposition as it comes, not asking too many questions and trusting your interpretation of the story is really the only way to enjoy the film as a whole. Individual aspects of the film are all done well. The cinematography is very precise given the pseudo-time travelling aspect of the film’s plot, which is only fully realized later on. The complexity of the plot directly correlates to what can only have been a complex shooting schedule. For example, the car chase sequence, which visited twice during the film, would have taken extreme efforts of coordination, cinematography, and overall direction to create the film’s cohesive and surprisingly believable plot.

It's incredibly hard to say much about “Tenet” without giving anything away, and it’s worth keeping the secret. “Tenet” is definitely a film you don’t want ruined for you, otherwise it won’t be quite as enjoyable the first time around. There’s no mystery or twist if you don’t go in blind. Part of the fun of this film is letting it confuse and confound you for two-and-a-half hours. After that, a second viewing would be fun to pick up on clues that you couldn’t interpret beforehand.

In any other situation, would “Tenet” have picked up award nominations? Perhaps it would have, given Nolan’s track record and Washington’s likeability with voting bodies. The intricacy of the film editing, cinematography and sound design warrant nominations. Nontechnical category nominations may entirely depend upon the reception of films have come out in the last two-to-three months, especially given “Tenet’s” summer run in theatres which now seems like a lifetime ago, making the film’s plot of time manipulation quite appealing to the film’s would-be success. With awards season pushed back this year, it’s entirely possible that given “Tenet’s” inaccessibility both in theatres and on digital (it was released digital “regularly,” after the theatrical run) hindered the film’s exposure and perception during the pandemic. With almost a year between the film’s release and awards season, Nolan must be feeling caught in his own time loop.

Missing out on awards season would be a bad beat for “Tenet.” It is an exceptional film while retaining its Nolan-esque qualities. However, if the PR team in charge of “Tenet’s” awards buzz does it right, framing “Tenet” as “the film that could” to garner support of solidarity could be a very effective campaign. No matter what, “Tenet” will always be a footnote in the books as the film that tested the waters of the 2020 Pandemic whether or not it gets highlighted this season.

“Tenet” is rated PG-13 and available for streaming.