Tenet in Review

 

The third decade of the 21st Century is finally looking up; we’ve only had to navigate through World War Three, a global pandemic and Dominic Cummings (you can decide which is worse) to reap 2020’s rewards. Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ was released on the 26th of August in the UK, offering sweet release from the dross we’ve had to sit through in lockdown (Daily News Briefs, anyone?) I felt moved to see the film twice - largely for pleasure, but also because two viewings make for a better review, and I missed quite a lot of plot development the first time round (I’ll get into this). My second trip to The Light definitely improved my understanding of the film - but it doesn’t really matter how many times you see the movie, because it’s excellent all ends-up, and I’m here to tell you why. I’ll run you through the main positives I identified in Nolan’s masterpiece, and for the sake of balance, I’ll try and find some negatives too. My notes threaten a two-part review (I’ve got lots of good things to say about ‘Tenet’) so my ‘Review Score’ mightn’t feature in this post. That doesn’t really matter: it’s already clear where my heart lies in regards to this film. Anyway, enough chat, I hope that you agree with my take on ‘Tenet’.

I’m starting my ‘Tenet’ appraisal in an unusual place. The thing that stood out to me most in the darkness of Screen Five was the use of colour in the movie (perhaps this isn’t so unusual actually). Nolan’s overarching palette in the film is a familiar one: navy blues and greys that can only be described as professional. I like this - it adds to the stylistic dourness of things. This isn’t what jumped out at me though - I’m talking specifically about the brighter flashes of colour on film, e.g. the protagonist’s hi-vis jacket; the yellow corridor in the Free Port; the orange attachment on Neil’s backpack, and my favourite, the raspberries on the yacht deck. I thought the way visuals like these injected colour into the film was excellent. The weakness of the prevailing palette served to make such bursts of colour even more striking whenever they did pop onto screen, especially as such moments were few and far between. This careful orchestration of the movie’s visuals is an example of exquisite film-making, in my opinion. Take the aforementioned shot of raspberries for example: the potent vibrancy of the pink treat on the floor burnt this otherwise insignificant moment into my mind’s eye. Such is the manipulation of colour in ‘Tenet’.  

Hoyte van Hoytema, Nolan's cinematographer for this film, executed his duties admirably. The Dutch-Swedish visionary has history with Chris: the duo fashioned ‘Dunkirk’ and ‘Interstellar’ together as well - two of the cinematic spectacles from the last decade. I'd argue that ‘Tenet’ is on a similar level. Beyond the flashes of colour I mentioned earlier, van Hoytema's shot creation in this movie is supreme. One of the biggest prerequisites for a decent film is, in my opinion, well considered cinematography - 'Tenet' passes this test with flying colours (no pun intended). Several frames stick out to me in this regard, such as: the inversion scientist's exhibit room; the brief shots of the street market in Mumbai; the exterior of Kat's son's school; the vista on the Amalfi coast, and most arrestingly of all, the red and blue of the Peruvian Window. These are only a few visuals from a film full of such moments, yet they jointly, and perfectly, represent the multifaceted nature of van Hoytema’s cinematography in ‘Tenet’. For instance, the shot in the scientist’s room is an example of first-class framing, whilst the vista scenes and the Peruvian window visuals are more notable for spectacular hues. What I’m trying to say is that, cinematographically speaking, Hoyte van Hoytema did it all in this film - and he did it all excellently. 

Mentioning frame-specific visuals is meaningless to anyone who hasn’t seen the film though - I apologise for this, but please take it from me that 'Tenet' is a treat for the eyes. You must witness this for yourselves before it leaves cinemas. The artistic value of this film’s cinematography is impeccable - I specifically loved how van Hoytema rationed bolder colours to maximise their impact. Purely on the strength of this, ‘Tenet’ is a 7/10 already in my book. That said, you could project me a film of paint drying, and I’d be totally happy with it, if it was shot nicely - the same can’t be said about any footage of the following: golf, F1, cricket or rugby.

 

Close second to strong cinematography as a priority for decent films is top-notch music, in my opinion. ‘Tenet’ excels in this department too. Ludwig Goransson, composer-extraordinaire, gets the credit for this. Fresh off his award winning work on ‘The Mandalorian’, the swede turned his Midas touch to ‘Tenet’, concocting another one of his fine scores for Nolan’s movie. The opening Opera siege scene is MADE by Ludwig’s score. The music adds to the claustrophobic and frenetic proceedings, as the masked protagonist barrels around, dodging bullets, in a sealed concert hall. We’re thrown in at the deep end, both in terms of action and music. Ludwig doesn’t let up from this point onwards. His score is consistently oppressive, which perfectly fits the plot and tone of the film: it’s one man against a civilisation (an oppressive situation, I’m sure you’ll agree.) The score for ‘Tenet’ succeeds in providing a steady, throbbing, source of tension - it gives the film a constant edge. Truly, I’d say that Goransson’s music is like the imperceptible heartbeat of ‘Tenet’. Please mark the word ‘imperceptible’. Unlike some of Nolan’s previous films, ‘Tenet’ is not a movie for grand, defining, Hans Zimmer pieces. I don’t think so, anyway. It doesn’t have a repeated and memorable riff like ‘Inception’ does. Goransson has gone for a more understated approach; for the most part, you barely notice his music, but it’s excellently effective all the same. The synth bursts in the opening scene (a moment when the score did come to the fore) gave me goose bumps. I hold any film that provokes such an effect in high regard. ‘Tenet’ and the composer behind it get all my praise for this.

I do have a criticism to level at the volume of the score in ‘Tenet’ though. It simply must be said that the music was too loud at some points - well that’s what I experienced, anyway. It felt like Goransson's score was either unnoticeable, or too loud. The dialogue in the film’s opening scene was totally drowned out by the music, which concerned me more than the unfolding story. Sat there in New Brighton I started to feel really annoyed - ‘how had Mr. Nolan allowed this to happen?’ I thought to myself. Unfortunately, as I explained, I got hung up on this, and ultimately, I left the cinema feeling unfulfilled (this is what I earlier promised to ‘get into’). Fortunately, I got to see the film again, which proved to be the perfect remedy for my fickleness. I kept all senses pricked for the bits that I didn’t pick up on the first time, ensuring that, after my second viewing, I stalked home from the Light with a much clearer notion of ‘Tenet(‘s)’ plot. It’s just a shame that I had to see the film twice to truly ‘grasp’ it though - mostly because I’m thick, but the movie’s audio mixing didn’t help either. I’d say that, for a film of ‘Tenet(‘s)’ nature, every single line needs to be readily audible. The mind bending plot demands this as a bare minimum. I’m sorry to report that just a few too many lines in Nolan’s picture are taken hostage by the score though. This handicaps us when it comes to understanding the already contrived plot.

On that topic, I’m not a fan of the way that crucial story developments often hinge upon a single line in ‘Tenet’ either (an often barely perceptible line too) i.e. you miss one line and you’re in the dark for the rest of the film. This happens with the introduction of Neil, for example. He’s fleetingly introduced as a contact in Mumbai before becoming a central character in the story. This was another bit of information that passed me by on first viewing, leaving me perplexed about the sudden arrival of another protagonist. Small annoyances like this and the booming score chip ever so slightly away at the film’s standing, in my opinion; and I must say, although I credited Ludwig Goransson’s musical contribution, I did detect a certain Hans Zimmer-shaped hole in ‘Tenet’. I mentioned ‘Inception’ for its stirring compositions - this is something that ‘Tenet’ lacked I think. I did say that Goransson’s music was mostly imperceptible, after all. ‘Tenet(‘s)’ score was tremendous, but a Zimmer whack might’ve given it a little je ne sais quoi. Alas, I’m splitting hairs. The film, music included, is largely flawless.

Such is the stock that I place on a film’s cinematography and score that I’m here, 1500 words into the article, with nothing said about Tenet’s actual plot, characters, actors, set pieces, direction, script or practical effects (spoiler alert, they’re all top notch). I suppose there will have to be a second part to this review, at least, then. Given the fact that I’ve not really spoken about anything substantial in this article, I’m uploading all parts of the review at once (hopefully), out of respect to any readers I have. It’s not really a review if the aforementioned components of a film aren’t scrutinised, so I’d better upload this in conjunction with anything else that I produce on ‘Tenet’. Please keep your eyes out for that. Thanks. This article, based on its content, would make for a better ‘Part 2’ of a film review - it’s just that I felt moved to mention cinematography and music first. I hope that you understand, and I hope also that you found my review acceptable. Thanks again. Please tweet me your thoughts on ‘Tenet’ (and my post) @Torpaldo on Twitter!