“What if I could put him in front of you, the man that ruined your life. If I could guarantee that you’d get away with it. Would you kill him?” The Bartender – Ethan Hawke
October 26th, 2014: Let me start by saying, as Sci-fi thrillers of the Meta variety go, this critic has endured a plethora of faux reproductions and low brow misses for decades. Hours of shambolic fables wrapped in a dearth of intellect that suffocate audiences with a tepid wash of earth and space mediocrity is the ultimate FAIL. But all ye who have lost faith fear not, for the Spierig brothers have created a nearly flawless adaptation that will infect and illuminate your subconscious profoundly. Don’t kid yourself, the mental gymnastics required to square this cinematic circle is daunting at best and that’s what makes the causality loops and hypotheticals so special and worthy of your time.
In 1997 director Andrew Niccol’s cataclysmic take on the dark side of eugenics explored the visceral possibilities of trumping an immutable world in “GATTACA”. This brilliant opus was a game changer for me but soon bested in 2010 by the cerebral-centric Christopher Nolan and his awe inspiring allegory, “INCEPTION”. This memory implanting mind-bender where the only way out is down refused to conform to the dictates of time and space for which all long suffering purists were eternally grateful. This latest meta-fiction elicited the patina of perfection which stood the test of time until the 2014 Toronto After Dark Film Festival’s Toronto Premiere of the worm whole masterpiece “PREDESTINATION”.
Based on American science-fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein’s 1959 short story, “All You Zombies”, PREDESTINATION is a delicate yet tightly woven paradox in the vein of a three hundred thread count Egyptian cotton blanket. This puzzling trippy little yarn begins deep in throws of a spy vs. spy narrative. The best Temporal Agent (Ethan Hawke), a violin case-toting time traveller is instructed by his boss Mr. Robertson (Noah Taylor), to prevent future attacks. He goes on his last and most cryptic mission to stop the latest terrorist attack perpetrated by the strangely named Fizzle Bomber. With a nod to classic noir the opening sequence is saturated with textured retro stylings paying homage to hard-boiled detectives like Phillip Marlowe or Sam Spade. Try as they may, the agency could not stop four attacks which take 112 lives, but their new objective is to erase from history his March 1975 magnum opus where he levelled 10 New York City blocks killing 11,000. The bomber gets the better of his first tête-à-tête by disfiguring Hawke resulting in massive facial reconstruction. With the decade hopping bomber storyline firmly affixed, Directors Mark and Peter Spierig weaves into the narrative more tranquil environs.
A conflicted tough talking John Doe walks into a bar with a beguiling story to tell and since bartenders are the most affordable therapists to all the worlds ills, this bartender (Ethan Hawke again) takes particular interest in what turns out to be an utterly tragic life story. Flashbacks on an illustrated life flood the screen with vivid themes of gender identity, abandonment, bullying, academics, kidnapping and space travel peppering Doe’s confessional. To delve any deeper would betray the secrets worthy of your first run theatrical experience. The Temporal Agent / bartender offer our story teller the opportunity to go back in time to alter his past and exact revenge on the person who ruined his life.
At this point PREDESTINATION jettisons into hyper drive (literally) as audiences transition into a collective Mensa mindset in order to decipher who’s who; and who did what to whom; and how does this change the original timeline and what is the new reality after the change becomes all consuming. Looping narratives and intersecting sub plots pull you deep into heady dimensions of character insights and interconnectedness crafted to perfection. Era friendly set pieces were built around immersive depictions of yesteryear. Visual standouts include the 1960s Space Corp. training facility which harken back to the retro coolness found in the Aerospace Corporation depicted in GATTACA. Hawke dressing in 70s inspired attire juxtaposed to the Agency’s sleek metal confines seemed oddly out of place until he is transported in the dimly lit confines of a 1970’s New York bar. This warmly lit speakeasy provides strong visual cues and the dramatic anchor for a myriad of time shifting set pieces to follow. Equally impressive is the transformation unheralded Aussie newcomer Sarah Snook under goes at the hands of Costume Designer, Wendy Cork. My reality was put to the test when I was forces to reconcile the characters Snook inhabits with such clarity.
Verdict 5.0 / 5.0: The Adjustment Bureaus’ and Butterfly Effects’ fall short. The Source Codes’ and Loopers’ need to step aside. The Minority Reports’, 12 Monkeys’, GATTACAS’ and INCEPTIONS’ come oh so close but for my money only PREDESTINATION is a true meta-fiction with the untenable situations and immersive storytelling required to yield enough emotional freight worthy of that climatic mind altering ending. Clever doesn’t begin to describe the thought processes one will undergo as PREDESTIONATION takes you to the final destination. With the raft of accolades that will surely come on the heels of PREDESTINATION as their latest calling card, the evolution of the Spierig brother’s career will be on a trajectory that will see then inhabit the lofty confines of such celebrated auteurs such as The Coens and Wachowskis.
The Spierig brother’s full treatment on Robert A. Heinlein’s short story is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Genre: Sci-fi, Thriller
Country: Australia
Language: English
Year: 2014
Director: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Writer: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Based on the Short Story by: Robert A. Heinlein
Production Designer: Matthew Putland
Art Director: Janie Parker
Set Decorator: Vanessa Cerne
Set Designer: James Parker
Costume Designer: Wendy Cork
Producers: Paddy McDonald, Tim McGahan, Peter Spierig, Michael Spierig
Executive Producers: Michael Burton, Gary Hamilton, Matt Kennedy, James M. Vernon.
Release Date: January 9th, 2015
Premiere: Toronto
Runtime: 97 Minutes
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Noah Taylor, Sarah Snook, Elise Jansen, Christopher Kirby, Cate Wolfe, Jim Knobeloch, Freya Stafford, Madeleine West, Alexis Fernandez, Olivia Sprague, Lucinda Armstrong, Tony Nikolakopoulos, Alicia Pavlis, Christopher Stollery
