It feels as if we’ve been in quarantine for years, yet Tenet somehow feels longer. There’s a possibility I’m still watching it, that I’ve descended into a dreamlike state where I seemingly continue on with life while, really, I’m in the theater, eyes glazed over and face mask damp with exhalation as good-looking men in suits (one of the only things Christopher Nolan incorporates into his films that I wholeheartedly endorse) walk around stunning locales describing in maddening detail what will soon happen onscreen—in glorious 70-millimeter, of course. Size does matter, after all.
At the center of this quantum cold war is Russian oligarch Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh), whose art-dealer wife, Kat (Elizabeth Debicki, cool, calm, collected and tall), is trying to leave him. She fulfills the key role most female leads occupy in Nolan’s films, that of a wife and, as also here, a mother, whose importance is defined by the men around her. Kat’s narrative presence revolves around her young son, who keeps her tied to the abusive Sator. At least it’s not yet another dead wife.
Dir. Christopher Nolan, 150 min. In wide release, including AMC theaters, Davis Theater, Landmark Century Centre Cinema, Logan Theatre, Music Box Theatre, and more
