MovieChat Forums > Tenet (2020) Discussion > All of Nolan’s worst instincts in one pl...

All of Nolan’s worst instincts in one place.

posted 4 years ago by MoviesSuck (964)
2 replies | jump to latest

If you don’t think that Tenet was the most incoherent mess of an already sloppy filmmaker’s career, than you simply liked Heath Ledger’s Joker too much to face reality. Where to even begin?

1) The constantly changing aspect ratios. Yes, Nolan Has been shooting certain scenes in IMAX for over a decade now, but never before can I remember him cutting back and forth between IMAX and 35mm during a simple dialogue between two characters. Does he not understand how distracting/jarring it is to be looking along the top or bottom of the frame in one shot, only to have that part of the frame literally disappear in the next? My God...why does he think this is necessary?

2) Rushed pacing and ultra-quick edits hurry you through scene after scene, making it impossible to truly follow along with the plot or feel anything even slightly resembling human emotion.

3) Moving on to characters, there are none. Just lifeless actors doing things. What things? It’s impossible to tell, because:

4) ...everyone mumbles. It is unbelievably difficult to fully understand his late-era films without activating the English SDH subtitles.

I’m tired of typing and you’re tired of reading. Long story short, Tenet was an absolute disaster, and Christopher Nolan makes joyless films that can’t be followed.

[–] CheekyMonkey (584) 4 years ago

Paul Thomas Anderson played with aspect ratios in The Grand Budapest Hotel, but he made sure that the blu ray had instructions in the beginning... I watched Tenet at home, on my projector and didn't realise which ratio to use to get the best experience...

[–] MoviesSuck (964) 4 years ago

Yes, but at least Wes Anderson’s use of differing aspect ratios in The Grand Budapest Hotel served a narrative function. Nolan on the other hand just seems to like IMAX, and so uses it anytime he feels that he can get away with it. Why he thinks that the more observant members of his audience won’t be jarred by the continuous expansion/shrinkage of the frame is absolutely baffling, especially coming from a director who repeatedly says that he wants to “immerse” people in the world he’s created.