Christopher Nolan Refuses to Discuss This Tenet Fan Theory

It goes without saying that Christopher Nolan has built a mighty resume from some of the beloved blockbusters of the 21st century. Yet Tenet remains arguably the one truly polarizing film in his catalog. The film’s fans find it an impeccably made, mind-bending thrill ride filled to the brim with style; detractors find it needlessly convoluted and confusing. Nonetheless, Tenet has slowly but surely been building a cult following.

Considering how heavily the film utilizes “reversed entropy,” allowing the characters to literally move backward through time (which, to be clear, is different from time travel), it can be incredibly hard to follow. But this hasn’t stopped fanboys from making highly detailed explanations of Tenet’s palindrome-like timeline or theorizing about the plot’s deeper implications. One of the most fascinating theories involving Robert Pattinson’s character, Neil, has actually found its way to Nolan’s attention.

Who Is Neil’s True Identity in Tenet?

Tenet

Release Date

August 22, 2020

Runtime

195

The theory’s simplest explanation is that Neil is actually a grown-up version of Max, the young son of Kat (Elizabeth Debicki), as both characters have the same accent and haircut. But as per usual with Christopher Nolan, nothing is ever that simple; it’s the details that fascinate. A popular Reddit post from 2020 points to one of the film’s most common criticisms (outside of the sound mixing) — clunky dialogue. In particular, the post author singles out Kay’s response to learning that Sator’s device could destroy reality: “Including my son,” insisting this line is actually a clue that points to Neil’s importance in Tenet’s climax.

First, the author cites how Neil can speak Estonian (a notoriously difficult language to become fluent in), much like Sator, Max’s biological father. Additionally, “Neil” works as an inverted version of the last four letters of “Maximilien.” While these clues can arguably be chalked up to coincidence, it’s harder to ignore Neil’s importance to Tenet’s climax, where he inverts one final time after Sator’s men are defeated. Knowing the mission’s outcome, he travels back to the battle to take a bullet meant for the Protagonist, which allows the plan to succeed at the cost of his life.

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This would lend deeper meaning to Kay’s line from before, as it speaks to his essential role in helping the Protagonist’s plan succeed. The post author elaborates on the film’s time travel mechanics: “Given the constant reference to the grandfather paradox, if we believe the theory that Neil is indeed a grown up Max, then it is imperative that the world doesn’t end, so that Max doesn’t die, so that he can eventually go back and stop the world from ending. Rather than going back and killing his grandfather that causes a paradox that ends reality, Neil goes back and he is the one who dies, therefore preventing a paradox that ends reality. The theme of the entire movie is almost an inverted grandfather paradox if you think about it that way.”

Additionally, if this theory is true, it adds weight to another line of dialogue late in the film, shortly before the climax begins. Neil tells the Protagonist, “When this is over, we’re still standing, and you still care, then you can hear my life story.” In this case, Neil means it literally, that the Protagonist will, in fact, get to experience Max’s entire coming-of-age and transformation into his most loyal acolyte.

Nolan Won’t Confirm or Deny if Max Is Neil

Anyone hoping to hear Christopher Nolan’s stance on this theory should prepare to be disappointed. Earlier this year, during his Oscar campaign for Oppenheimer, he appeared on The Late Show, where Stephen Colbert asked him, “Some people say they don’t understand everything in Tenet. Do you understand everything in Tenet?” Nolan responded, “You’re not meant to understand everything in Tenet. It’s not all comprehensible. It’s a bit like asking if I know what happens to the spinning top at the end of Inception.”

Colbert then asked if he knew the answer to one of the most hotly debated questions of 2010s blockbuster cinema. Nolan’s official stance: “I have to have my idea of it for it to be a valid, productive ambiguity. But the point of it is it’s an ambiguity.” More importantly, he stated, “I don’t allow myself to comment on fan theories anymore.” This is in line with Nolan’s perspective on his work since the beginning of his career, in that he prefers not to draw attention to his intentions, instead wishing for his films to speak for themselves and trusting audiences to come to their own conclusions. Indeed, it’s telling that Memento is the only audio commentary he’s ever recorded.

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Frankly, the ambiguity that Tenet largely runs on is arguably part of what makes it so memorable. In a sea of easy-to-understand (bordering on simplistic) blockbusters, it’s a fascinating beast precisely because it’s so hard to pin down completely. Even four years after its release, people are still debating it, and that likely wouldn’t be the case if Nolan tied everything up neatly with a bow and answered every single question the film raised.

Tenet Works Better the Less You Try to Understand It

Nolan may be onto something when he says viewers aren’t meant to completely understand Tenet. From this author’s experience, the first viewing was ripe with confusion and struggle to keep up with the film’s flow while simultaneously trying to piece the timeline together. On a rewatch, knowing that the plot is effectively a high-concept thriller (sort of like the James Bond film Nolan never got to make) heavy on vibes, first and foremost, it’s much more engaging.

Confusion might even be the state the viewer is intended to be in, much like the Protagonist in the first half, until he learns to go wherever the flow of time carries him. One of the film’s most famous lines, “Don’t try to understand it. Feel it,” may, in fact, be Nolan’s instruction manual on how to watch it. Tenet is available to rent on Prime Video.