Review of Predestination (2013) by Manny C — 03 Feb 2015

You just might go Matthew McConaughey-in-True-Detective-mad trying to wrap your head around the plot of Predestination. Sure, it's a total mind-bender. But stay with, because the filmmaking duo of the Spierig brothers, Peter and Michael, drop you headfirst into the fevered labyrinths of their imaginations. If you feel lost, don't sweat it. As writers and directors, the German-born, Aussie-bred brothers have a riveting starting point for this film: Robert A. Heinlein's 1960 short story, All You Zombies. And they just go from there.

Ethan Hawke, in yet another mesmerizing performance, is Temporal Agent, a time-traveler tasked with stopping future murders before they can happen. I know what you're thinking: Looper. Yes, the agent is tending bar in the 1970's New York chatting with a guy (Sarah Snook) who writes magazine stories under the byline 'The Unmarried Mother'. The Mother's backstory involves growing up in an orphanage in 1940's Cleveland. Just hear me out. The Mother is actually an intersex creature forced into transition into male form under strange circumstances involving a 1960's government space experiment that...well, I could go on. It's better to let this sci-fi gem wash over you and let it simmer. Maybe get stoned if that helps. But you won't be able to take your eyes off Snook, an Aussie actress who can play either sex like she's always been that sex. You believe every word. It's a hell of a performance. And Hawke, who starred in the Spierigs' 2010 B-movie gem, Daybreakers, delivers another thunderously exciting performance. Predestination is not one for moviegoers who prefer rules and tradition. Get on it.