Brilliant. Thought-provoking mind bending brilliance. Coming under the radar and screening on Tuesday night as part of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival schedule, Predestination stars Ethan Hawke (Sinister) in a film that caught us off guard and sent us home with the reality of just witnessing one of the best films of the year. Ethan Hawke plays a character without name who is a time-travelling agent for a secret agency that uses their ability to transport to specific dates as an opportunity to stop crime. Hawkes character (known as The Bartender) is on the tail end of his career. And on his final assignment, he is tasked with stopping the "Fizzle Bomber", a terrorist that exploded a bomb in New York City in 1975 that killed over 11,000 citizens. The bartender had a chance to stop the bomber once before but failed and now after a recuperating after his final jump, he jumps from 1960's through the 70's, 80's and 90's to achieve his final objective. The time travel machine used to jump is basic and brilliant in its simplicity a violin case where the adjustment of the numbered and lettered locking mechanism determines the date to which one will travel. It is during an early jump that Hawkes character finds himself in the 1960's acting as a bartender in a small dive bar. It's here where he meets the character played by Sarah Snook (again, no name is given for the character just the description "The Unmarried Mother"). The two main characters begin a conversation that is part Tarantino part Mamet in its delivery and genius. The Unmarried Mother begins to weave a tale so unbelievable that it's mesmerizing to hear it unravel. The bartender does not seem as overly surprised at the details and at the conclusion of the anguishing story, he offers the Unmarried Mother an opportunity to go back in time to face the person which caused her such grief. The time jump of the two characters sets the timeline path for a story that goes in directions that will be completely unseen. By the time the Unmarried Mother meets her oppressor and the Bartender confronts the Fizzle Bomber the directing duo of the of Spierig Brothers (Peter and Michael) have laid out a complex plot of intersecting stories best described as a "snake eating its own tail." Ethan Hawke has worked with the Spierig Brothers before with 2009's Daybreakers which this reviewer thought was a well above average tale of vampires in a futuristic world. But with Predestination the collaborative efforts of the brothers and Hawke have created a brilliant time travel science fiction film that betters Rian Johnson's Looper in its vision and execution. Predestination is a movie where washroom breaks are not recommended. Every detail of the story circles back to the wonderful final reveal. It's a film that commands attention and then rewards the viewer for the courtesy. When the year finally comes to a close, we will have screened over 200 films released in 2014. Predestination is sure to be on our list of Top 10 when the tallies are constructed.
Review of Predestination
