PREDESTINATION. Science fiction with the twist for the ages
It signifies the endlessly repeatable cycle of birth and death. This idea, representing the perpetuity of time, has found favor in various cultures, including popular culture, and has been reinterpreted multiple times. I recognize it, among other places, in the realm of science fiction – particularly in works involving time travel, initiated by the famous Time Machine by H.G. Wells. An noteworthy representation of this theme is found in the film Predestination by the Spierig brothers.
In movies dealing with time travel, I often feel like I’m in a labyrinth. I struggle to grasp the logic of temporal paradoxes, which clearly defy the capabilities of my imagination. However, I don’t perceive this as a flaw in the films but rather as subjective limitations. Since Back to the Future and the moment when, as a younger viewer, I finally understood why Marty’s siblings disappear from the family photograph, I have developed a strong sympathy for this peculiar subgenre of science fiction. These films, typically operating in three temporal lines – past, present, and future – not only manage to provide a lot of enjoyment in searching for the right interpretative clues, but also deliberately complicate the audience’s ability to pinpoint the beginning and end of the serpent. The central theme of the Spierig brothers’ Predestination doesn’t differ significantly from its predecessors playing with the concept of time travel.
We meet a spy who, as a member of a special government agency responsible for preventing future crimes, is sent back in time. His mission is to locate and neutralize a dangerous criminal before the latter actually becomes one. Although the plot is not confusing at this stage – as it sounds like a description of a new Timekeeper – the Spierig brothers have taken care to complicate its development to the maximum.
Ethan Hawke takes on the lead role – a familiar but still underrated actor – but it’s not his persona that remains at the center of the viewer’s attention during the screening. His co-star, Sarah Snook, steals the screen; she is downright captivating. She had a challenging task, one not every actress could fulfill – she had to play a man. And not in a mocking way, not by imitating the characteristics of the opposite gender for the sake of a single scene. Due to a justified plot point, she had to become a man, convincingly. I don’t know about you, but in the “bar scene” (surprisingly well-executed), I pondered for a long time about the gender of the person I was looking at. In my opinion, inducing – even if temporary – such doubts is recommendation enough for this performance.
Out of reviewer’s integrity, I refrain from revealing details about the narrative solutions employed by the creators (the only clue being the symbolism of the uroboros). This is one of those films where the less said, the better. It must be emphasized, however, that the strength of Predestination lies in its exceptionally surprising conclusion, which, importantly, could not be predicted in any way. Using a cinematic colloquialism, what we have here is a classic mindfuck that creates a shock effect, resulting in dropped jaws.
I am not exaggerating: for some time now, I’ve been sensitive to cinematic plot twists, and I feel saturated because, one, they are poorly emphasized, and two, their resolutions are usually predictable. Predestination has set the bar higher and, with its finale, underscored the lost undertone in temporal-spatial inquiries. However, I would advise against attributing to it an ideology greater than that aimed at providing the viewer pure enjoyment of a session full of surprises.
Jakub Piwoński