Back to the movies with "Tenet" and a "Personal History..."
Friday, September 11, 2020 at 6:00PM by Eurocheese
I drove 100 miles (one way!) to see two movies last weekend. Was it worth it? Well… yes and no. Here’s my take on returning to theaters and my thoughts on the two films I went (way) out of my way to see: Tenet and The Personal History of David Copperfield.
First, the moviegoing experience itself...
Wearing a mask in public doesn’t really bother me anymore (something I never would have said before 2020). When my tickets were scanned, I was immediately warned that I would NOT be hovering in the lobby between my films, unless I was waiting in line for food. When I ended up grabbing a hot dog and soda between my movies, there was the mandatory person-in-line-who-can’t-follow-directions that insisted on getting into my personal space, but I managed to get away from him. Entering the theater, everyone was spaced out (two seats next to each group were empty, and every other row was left empty). Actually, the other audience members were far enough away that even mid-film chattering didn't bother me, and I still heard reactions to a few exciting moments. All in all, it felt like a trip back to a more normalized universe.
As for the movies…
Tenet
I’m a big Christopher Nolan fan, though I have strong opinions about his films being hit or miss. If you’re not a Nolan fan, feel free to stop here – this is not going to be the film to convert you. Some of Nolan’s more frustrating tics are on full display.
In the movie’s favor: If you are all about seeing Nolan flicks for the big action pieces – think Joseph Gordon Levitt’s spinning fight scene in Inception, or the police coming under fire driving through Gotham in The Dark Knight – this film delivers in spades. As you may have gathered from the trailer, the film wants to show off in this department and while the scenes didn’t thrill me like those earlier scenes, Tenet is still an action feast. Cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema knows how to make the high tension moments shine. The audience in my theater was completely drawn in for these sequences, even when some of what was happening was hard to understand...
And unfortunately, there are a lot of reasons why everything is so hard to understand. We once again have the Bane sound problem of dialogue being drowned out in a number of scenes, including some where hearing what was said would make a huge difference. Then there’s the convoluted plot (which I won’t spoil). Nolan gives himself an out early on when a character assures, “Don’t try to understand. Just feel it.” I tried to just feel it, but Nolan once again resorts to long diatribes of exposition late in the film, I felt somewhat annoyed.
Then there are the characters. I have defended many of Nolan’s characters in the past, but this film backs every argument made against him. All relationships are either underlined (they hate each other!!!) or simply come across as unearned. Nolan apparently said in interviews that he wanted this to feel like his James Bond film, which might be why these characters feel like action movie prototypes rather than people. In Tenet it felt like a scene might have simply said “insert emotional connection” in the script. (Remember how mystifying it was that Batman and Catwoman were suddenly an apparent couple in The Dark Knight Rises? There are multiple relationships here that inspired the same “Huh?” reaction here.)
If you’re looking for a mindless action flick that thinks it has a lot on its mind, and you don’t mind that it takes itself incredibly seriously, you may have a good time at Tenet. Sadly, that was not the case for me. C-
The Personal History of David Copperfield
This film, on the other hand, was an absolute delight. Looking back at his life through an absurdist lens, David Copperfield paints a whimsical view of his difficult early years. Part of the fun of the story is its various twists and turns, so I won’t go into detail, but much like Copperfield himself, I was never quite sure where he would land next. Tilda Swinton and Hugh Laurie were wonderful additions to the cast, along with a charming performance from Rosalind Eleazer, bringing together an ensemble that keeps the film’s energy bubbling. The colorblind casting is a welcome change from most modern period films, and the snappy dialogue from Simon Blackwell and director Armando Iannucci (the guys who brought us In the Loop and The Death of Stalin) is consistently entertaining. I’ll confess that I've never read the classic book, but my understanding is this is a fairly faithful adaptation.
I’d be doing a huge injustice to the film if I didn’t mention Dev Patel. I would love to see him become a factor in this year’s Best Actor race. Early in the film it would be easy to assume he will be overwhelmed by the larger than life world around him, but his determination, joy and curiosity sneak up on you. It was only near the end I realized that he was my favorite character in the film, and part of that was due to Patel's charm. This is easily my favorite performance from the still rising star and I hope we continue to see great work like this from him.
It won't be everyone's idea of a "must see on the big screen," but this was a welcome treat and reminded me why I love going to the movies so much. I was thinking of my favorite moments long after it ended... and I had hours to do so on the drive back. We all need a healthy escape these days, and David Copperfield is a nearly perfect distraction. A-
Reader Comments (9)
Yeah, I sometimes love Nolan, and I usually at least like movies that embrace the "just feel it" mentality, but Nolan just DOES. NOT. MAKE. "Just Feel It" movies. And unless you are either A: a movie that actually will embrace that mentality or B: you're writing a comedy straw hippie, Just Feel It is about as bad a phrase as "As You Know".
Thanks for the reviews! I’m still too scared to go back to the theaters, but I am very interested in seeing THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD. I kinda want to read the book ahead of time. The trailer looks like a great mix of humor and whimsical.
David Copperfield is my favorite Dickens’ book. Hence, I am interested (in an unrelated note, several years ago I went to a Da id Coplerfield (the magician) show and was chosen randomly to participate in a magic trick. Very cool,)
I tend to defend Nolan more often than not, but Tenet is the most illegible film he's ever made.
Thanks for these reviews. I'm def a hard pass on the Nolan film (for me the majority of his oeuvre is simply empty style and thrill-less thrills) and a Will See on David Copperfield. The cast sounds like a lot of fun. But still not comfortable going to theaters, so I'll wait and rent it. I have a feeling I'll be spending a small fortune in streaming rentals as Oscar season begins in earnest!
I've been worried about David Copperfield because it seems like it's so easy to get forgotten, what with Covid and then the Disney acquisition of Searchlight. I've been worried that Disney has been burying all things 20th Century Fox, but maybe this one will be able to shine through and prove the worth of Searchlight to the megacorp? Fingers crossed.
I know that Tenet is supposed to be the thing that pulls us back to the theaters - but I'm not that interested in it. However, I hope we continue to have opportunities to return to cinemas in safe, socially-distant ways, because its an institution worth protecting and the giant screens have a power that's irreplicable from home.
I was lucky enough to see the 4K Crash on the big screen a few weeks ago, and I LOVED IT. Perfect movie experience that would not be the same alone in my living room.
100% agree on TENET, which I saw at a drive-in last week. It's fundamentally an empty film.
I really want to see DAVID COPPERFIELD (my favorite Dickens, too, Pedro - high five!), but I, too, will wait till it's available on video/streaming.
Agree on Tenet being very hard tonfollow. Also agree on going to theater felt kind of comfortably normal.