Review: Predestination
A man walks into a bar and proceeds to tell an amazing tale. "When I was a little girl," he begins.
A foundling left on an orphanage doorstep in Cleveland, Jane grew up with the unshakeable belief that she was different from the other orphans. She taught herself how to fight back, was top of her class with mathematics and science particular favourites - everything came easy except being adopted. As a young woman (Sarah Snook), she found herself recruited by Space Corp, a government program that sends women into outer space to alleviate the loneliness of the male astronauts. A detailed physical examination leads to her expulsion from the program, though she believes it's due to her fighting with her fellow recruits.
She soon meets and falls in love with a man whose face is pointedly hidden from view. He's kind, handsome, doesn't play games but mysteriously disappears from her life, leaving her with an unexpected pregnancy. The birth of her daughter, who is soon snatched by an enigmatic figure, leads to the discovery that Jane is intersex, possessing both male and female reproductive organs. Complications from the birth force her to transition into the man named John she is today.
The bartender (Ethan Hawke) counters her story with one of his own. He is a temporal agent, one of eleven, who travels back and forth in time to prevent crime before it happens and to reshape wrongdoings. If he can guarantee that she can get away with it, would she kill the man that ruined her life? "In a heartbeat," she replies.
Lest one think the agent is prone to a sob story, he has motives of his own for engaging Jane / John. He has been chasing the Fizzle Bomber, a terrorist responsible for an explosion in 1970s New York that claimed the lives of tens of thousands. Repeated time jumps have brought him closer and closer to this elusive catch but have also wreaked havoc on the agent; his recent psychological assessment showed early stages of psychosis, mood swings and bouts of depression.
Based on the short story "--All You Zombies--" by Robert A. Heinlein, Predestination is an entertaining and stirring meditation on gender, identity and destiny that recalls The Adjustment Bureau and Looper while also bringing to mind plays by Eugene O'Neill and David Mamet. The Spierig Brothers, who directed Hawke in 2009's Daybreakers, have a keen sense of the material, navigating the plot's twists and turns with admirable aplomb. One could successfully argue that there may be one revelation too many - one identity in particular is not in the source material but is used to establish the opening hook - but given the craft and confidence with the telling of an admittedly ludicrous tale, it's an easy pill to swallow.
Hawke is ideally cast but it is Australian actress Sarah Snook who dominates the film with her portrayals of Jane and John. At times resembling Leonardo DiCaprio and Jodie Foster, she delivers a layered and complex performance that should serve as a strong calling card to Hollywood casting agents.
Thoroughly engrossing, Predestination will no doubt inspire multiple viewings to sort out its circular logic and savour its many delights.
Predestination
Directed by: The Spierig Brothers
Written by: The Spierig Brothers; adapted from Robert A. Heinlein's short story "--All You Zombies--"
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor
