In Tenet (2020), the forwards/backwards interrogation scene has an editing mishap. When we see the conversation from inverted Sator's perspective, it is not perfectly reversed from what we just saw/heard.

This is my first post to MovieMistakes!

If we were hearing a conversation play out in forward time, it would go like this:

• Person A: "Hello"
• Person B: "Hello"
• Person A: "Goodbye"
• Person B: "Goodbye"

If we were to hear that same conversation but we inverted ourselves, here is how that convo would sound :

• Person B: "Goodbye"
• Person A: "Goodbye"
• Person B: "Hello"
• Person A: "Hello"

A key point I want to make here is that because Person A was the FIRST to speak in forward flow of time, they would be the LAST to speak in inverted flow of time. Nolan demonstrated as much several times in Tenet.

So, the Protagonist is brought before Inverted Sator and interrogated about the algorithm. The following is their conversation in forward time from Protagonist perspective (fyi Inverted Sator will be IS, and Protagonist will be P).

• IS: "If you're not telling the truth, she dies.
• P: "I don't know what you're talking about."
• IS: "You left it in the car, not the firetruck, right?"
• P: "Who told you that?"
• IS: "Tell me is it really in the BMW?"
• P: "I don't know."
• IS: "Tell me or I'll shoot her again." (from forward perspective has not shot her yet)
• P: "Leaver her alone!"
• IS: "I don't have time to negotiate."
• P: "Listen to me, I can help you."
• IS: "3..2..1.."
• SHOOTS KAT.
• IS: "Next one's a bullet to the head."
• P: "No!"
• IS: "1...2..3..."
• P: "Ok, the car, the BMW, I left it in the BMW."
• IS: "We're going to check this is real."
• P: " It's in the glove box."

At this point, the Sator who has not inverted yet comes into the room, and asks the Protagonist where the algorithm is. Immediately after, infantry coming to rescue Protagonist bursts in the room, and Sator moves into the turnstile to invert himself and his flow of time.

If editing was correct, the conversation we just saw/heard would play out in EXACT REVERSE, but it doesn't. After Kat is shot, the editor starts placing the Protag's responses after Inverted Sator's questions, when they actually should come after.

Here is the transcript of the convo from Inverted Sator's perspective. A key thing to note is since the Protagonist spoke LAST in the forward convo, he is FIRST to speak in the inverted convo.

• P: " It's in the glove box."
• IS: "We're going to check this is real."
• P: "Ok, the car, the BMW, I left it in the BMW." (this dialogue is kind of muffled in inverted convo perspective)
• IS: "3...2...1..."
• P: "No!"
• IS: "Next one's a bullet to the head."
• SHOOTS KAT.
• IS: "1...2...3..."
• P: "Listen to me, I can help you."
• IS: "I don't have time to negotiate."
• IS: "Tell me or I'll shoot her again."
• P: "Leaver her alone!"
• IS: "Tell me is it really in the BMW?"
• P: "I don't know."
• IS: "You left it in the car, not the firetruck, right?"
• P: "Who told you that?"
• IS: "If you're not telling the truth, she dies.
• P: "I don't know what you're talking about."

Inverted Sator should have been the LAST to speak in the inverted convo, but the editor messed it up. After Inverted Sator shoots Kat in the inverted convo, the order of question/answer gets out of whack.

One could make the argument they fudged the order around to make it make sense for the audience, BUT...it is written so perfectly it actually DOES make sense had it been presented in perfect reverse order.

Hope you enjoyed the post and this movie mistake, cheers!

Submitted December 18, 2024 at 11:51PM by xGothamGuardianx https://ift.tt/86UPKD3