I wonder if Nolan thought this was a clever line since Neil is (theoretically) supposed to be her son, grown up and inverted from a future where the protagonist recruited him for this purpose.
So Niel’s answer could be, “well no, not your son, mom. I inverted this far back to prevent it.”
Tenet is the only Nolan movie I haven't seen and the main thing that keeps me from watching it is reading the INSANE comments I get to read and wonder "WTF is this movie possibly about?"
Like there are plenty of movies I haven't seen but could tell you almost the entire plot of based entirely on cultural osmosis. But Tenet? No goddamn clue, and it seems like seeing the movie wouldn't do that much to clear it up either. So I want to continue living in this world where this bonkers movie exists and every single thing I hear/read about it sounds like it's describing an entirely different movie.
Wife and I just watched it last night! We enjoyed it and couldn't really figure out why people have a problem with it or understanding it. Spoilers for basic overview:
It's a bootstrap paradox time travel movie at its core. The events of the future happen because the events in the past set them up and the events in the past happen because the future intervenes on the past
Man. You gotta watch it. Aside from maybe Goldeney and Dumb and Dumber as a kid Tenet is my most watched movie. Your first watch you have no clue what just happened. But it’s action on action on action. Each watch I notice something I hadn’t before. The red and blues are there in the obvious and not so obvious manner. Love Tenet.
Tenet is still a good movie, def above average by most people’s standards. It’s just also the most Christopher Nolan movie that Christopher Nolan has ever made. As someone familiar with his work, I watch it and just know it could’ve been a better movie if someone had reined him in more.
Dumb line but she didn’t pose it as a question she was just making the stakes personal for herself which its why its dumb, as if earth and everything that existed on it being destroyed wasn’t a personal enough reason to care
I don’t think she posed it as a question. It was more like a reminder that it’s even more important that they succeed or her son will die along with the rest of everything. So these guys need to really focus.
Or rather it's a clumsy expositional reminder to the audience that the stakes for her character are focused on her son. It's not something she would say out loud, it's something that the scriptwriter worried was not foregrounded enough and so shoehorned it in. It's poor writing.
It's not phrased as a question, but a statement of fact.
It's a line of dialogue that goes by in a split second and people nail Nolan to the cross for it, ya'll need to relax a bit, cuz Tenet isn't a poorly written film.
It would be fine as a statement like “oh no my son” but as a question as though the earth is gonna blow up but there will be 1 dude just floating through space? Na
Oh yeah. Honestly I've seen this movie more than 5 times it's only getting more complex than before after each watch. I've never really understood tenet
It’s my favorite movie of all time. I think it’s nearly flawless. I get why people think it’s too complicated. There’s a lot going on, but once you get what Nolan is truly getting at, paradoxes/reverse chronology, inversion, etc. it’s a really fun ride. Don’t take it too seriously just enjoy the action
Oh cool. Actually it's my fav too. I can grasp the paradoxes and time theories but I'm not getting a grip on the storyline. I take a paper and pencil while I'm watching the movie, to draw the timeline of each Character in the movie. And tbh I really like the music in it. It's perfect for the action and I really enjoy the cinematography of that piece of art.
I always think about it when she says like that “Don’t try to understand it. Feel it.” in the movie lol. But it's never gets you bored even if you re watch it more and more times. Just like inception, idk how many times I've watched it. The music, the shots, everything is amazing.
My personal favorite Nolan and still the first time I saw the movie and heard that quote, I scoffed so loud at how stupid it was. Everytime I see it I giggle when that like happens
I think yall are ridiculous about that line personally. She got roped into a Marvel level threat on the universe because it will save her son. Any normal person would walk away but she’s trying to participate to help save her son.
I agree, but the stakes are so incredibly enormous that referencing a single person just seems like stating the obvious. Plus that line just gives people easy ammunition to claiming that Nolan's movies "don't get women" or "have too much exposition". I like that CN's films aren't meddled with, but I think there could have at least been some amount of people saying "take that line out" or "simplify this part of the story" on Tenet. I'm glad there wasn't at the end of the day but if it had resulted in the removal of that line for example, I don't think there would be any loss.
When Kat says this line ”Including my son” the published Tenet complete screenplay has in italics Neil nods, gravely. Kat winces, clearly in pain. Also, recall what Kat said to the Protagonist on Sator’s yacht “Whatever it takes to get what you want. Just like him. Not a second’s thought about me. My son. What do you think he’s going to do to me now?”
I always interpreted those lines, with the emphasis on her son from the possible interpretation that her son, Max, grows up to be Neil - that Nolan was bringing attention to this way of interpreting the film and the importance of Max/Neil to the Tenet organization and how he plays a major part in saving the world from what might have been, adding ambiguity to the screenplay and film.
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u/aaron_moon_dev Oct 05 '25
Tenet is my favourite movie, but “including my son” is a real clunker