A Master of Mind-Bending

Christopher Nolan is no stranger to crafting mind-bending movies that play with all kinds of topics, narratives, and structure, and his upcoming film, Tenet, looks no different. Through trailers and clips we have seen of the film, it looks like time is a big factor in the plot, and we have seen moments where it is moving forwards and backwards at the same time. This complexity lends itself to why the esteemed director told one of his editors that she would have the hardest job of any editor. Ever.

A First-Time Experience

Tenet will mark the first time that Jennifer Lame has worked with Christopher Nolan, but the relationship looks to have gone smoothly, even with some of the trials and obstacles they faced in editing the film. Nolan tells ICG Magazine (via Indiewire) that he warned Lame early on that working on the film would be a unique experience:

“Working for the first time with editor Jen Lame was a real pleasure. I joked with her when she first came on that this might be the hardest movie any editor has ever had to cut — and I’m not sure she would dispute that right now [laughs]. Working out all the aspects of portraying time running in different directions meant going beyond what was down on the page, as the execution lay with a successful translation of the visual.”

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A Jump to A New Style

Lame is known for serving as an editor for Noah Baumbach’s films, making this jump to Nolan’s style all the more jarring, we are sure. Lame even admits to being a little intimidated with having to edit the action in Tenet, given her experience with working on character dramas. She explains:

“The films I have worked on up until this have been more character-driven, so I enjoyed getting more intimate scenes to cut. I found myself spending more time on the quieter moments and perhaps slightly intimidated by the action. To get over that, I began to think of action as also driving the story forward, explaining, and fleshing out the character’s journey. When Chris saw I was intimidated by the action sequences, he reiterated this point; the story was always the driving force.”

In looking for an editor for the film, Nolan didn’t just want some who had the experience to edit, but someone who had a good judgment in making edits and who had a similar creative language as him.

Still a Long Wait

It could still be awhile until we see their together on the big screen, as the coronavirus pandemic has caused the film to be pushed back multiple times. Recently, we learned the film will most likely release overseas before the U.S. given our lack of control of the situation.

We just want to see Tenet, for crying out loud.

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