The Projector #52: Thinking About Tenet From a Distance (Patreon)

by Keith Phipps

It’s been a weird experience watching the first reviews of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet roll in as I write this on a Friday afternoon. It’s hard not to feel disconnected from the whole process. I’ve watched reactions from abroad before, but they’ve never felt quite so distant. Tenet will premiere elsewhere on August 26th before hitting American theaters on September 3rd. Some American theaters, anyway. In Chicago, where three out of your four Next Picture Show hosts live, it will make its premiere at my favorite movie theater in the world, but I’m almost certainly not going to be there. Not because said theater isn’t taking every precaution, but because I’m still not convinced that we know enough about how COVID-19 works to determine what every precaution looks like. Here’s a major motion picture from a director I admire and it might as well be debuting on another planet.

Here’s Robbie Collin in the Daily Telegraph: “Christopher Nolan's time-bending action spectacular is the perfect film to get us back in cinemas – one viewing just won't be enough,” Yeah, but is it? Tenet’s had added weight put on it for a long time, with its release date being treated as a beacon for when things will return to normal, at least in terms of going to the movies. That date has gotten pushed back again and again. Now it’s here and it still feels too soon.

It’s created a conundrum, both for moviegoers and those who write about movies. (Not that we’re mutually exclusive.) A couple of us passed on a chance to review New Mutants when it opens in Chicago this week. I know I’d fret the whole time I was there, then worry for days about whether I’d contracted the coronavirus, and whether I’d pass it on to others. The same reason that’s led me to keep my kid learning remotely this fall has kept me away from movie theaters. (Also, imagine getting sick — or worse — to see New Mutants.)

Am I overreacting? Where is everyone else when it comes to moviegoing these days? And do you think you’ll see Tenet soon or at a date to be determined later?

Other stuff: Look for our upcoming episode on Boys State, the second half of a pairing that began with Lord of the Flies this week. And you might enjoy reading some of these pieces:

• Here’s Scott Tobias on Wild At Heart’s 30th anniversary for The Guardian.

• For Mel, Keith Phipps wrote about giving The Postman a second look in light of recent events.

• Why does the Criterion Collection have so few films by Black directors? The New York Times asked the question.

• On its 40th anniversary, Catherine Shoard offers an oral history of the late Alan Parker’s Fame.

• For Mel, Brian VanHooker delivers another oral history, this one covering the Simpsons’ “Steamed Hams” scene.