Predestination (film)

''Predestination'' is a 2014 Australian science fiction thriller film written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig. The film stars Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, and Noah Taylor, and is based on the 1959 short story " '—All You Zombies—' by Robert A. Heinlein.

Plot

In 1975, a time-traveling agent fails to stop a bomb from detonating, suffering severe burns. An unseen person helps him activate his time-travel device, allowing him to escape to 1992. Deemed a failure for not capturing the elusive “Fizzle Bomber,” his injuries and mental health concerns prompt his superiors to remind him of his impending retirement.

For his final mission, the agent goes undercover as a bartender in 1970 New York City, where he meets a customer who writes under the pen name “The Unmarried Mother.” After prompting, the customer tells his life story.

Assigned female at birth as Jane, he grew up in an orphanage, later recruited by a secret agency posing as SpaceCorp. After falling in love in college and becoming pregnant by an unknown man, Jane was abandoned. During childbirth, doctors discovered he was intersex. Complications during the birth led to gender reassignment surgery, and his baby was mysteriously kidnapped. He renamed himself John and relocated to New York City, harboring resentment toward the man who had left him and destroyed his life.

The agent offers John revenge by revealing he works for a time-travel agency. Together, they go back to 1963, where John discovers that he was his past self's lover all along. Despite knowing their love is doomed, John cannot bring himself to leave Jane.

Meanwhile, the agent illegally returns to 1975 and helps his wounded past self, completing a predestination loop. He kidnaps John's baby and leaves them in 1945 at the orphanage where John grew up. Thus, John is his own parents. Returning to 1963, the agent compels John to leave Jane as is his inevitable fate and recruits him into the agency in 1985.

Upon retiring in 1975, the agent is told where to find the Fizzle Bomber—only to discover the Bomber is his future self, who believes his actions prevented greater disasters and insists that Robertson is responsible for their entire life. The agent, refusing to accept this fate, kills him.

John's surgical scars are shown on the agent's body, confirming he is an older John—an orchestrated paradox created by Robertson. On a tape recording for his past self, John wonders whether the future can be changed.

Cast

Production

Development

The film is based on the 1959 short story " '—All You Zombies—' by Robert A. Heinlein. At one point in an internal monologue in the film, the narrator quotes the story title. On 14 May 2012, the Spierig brothers—who had already written a screenplay—were announced as the directors of ''Predestination''. Peter Spierig explained in August 2014 that they remained close to Heinlein's 1959 short story. They did not try to take apart the logic of the more than 50-year-old narrative: "... so we pierig brothersworked on the remisethat if there was a way to pick apart the logic, over that time it would have been done by now. We kind of say, 'let's trust the short story and trust that logic', so we stuck very closely to it."

Ethan Hawke was selected for the lead role, while Wolfhound Pictures and Blacklab Entertainment collaborated to produce the film. Hawke explained in November 2014 that he is a longtime fan of the science fiction genre, but he prefers its human elements, rather than special effects:

Whether it's Robert Heinlein, Kurt Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick, H. G. Wells or whoever ... that kind of mind-bendy science-fiction where you can really attack themes in a new way. And when I read ''Predestination'' it was like: "What the f*** did I just read?!"

Distribution

Arclight Films had bought the international rights to the film, and on 18 May 2012, Tiberius Film attained the German rights to the film from Arclight. On 23 May 2012, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions acquired the American and some international rights to the film.

Financing

On 5 September 2012, Screen Australia announced that it would finance the film as part of a A$4.8 million (US$3.6 million) investment in three feature films.

Casting

On 28 February 2013, Snook signed on to star in one of the film's lead roles, followed by Taylor, who joined the cast of the film on 13 May 2013. Also in 2013, Pinnacle Films secured the Australian and New Zealand distribution rights to the film.

Filming

On 19 February 2013, pre-production was scheduled to begin on 25 February 2013, while shooting was scheduled to begin on 8 April 2013 in Melbourne, for a duration of six weeks. By 13 May 2013, filming was underway. Filming predominantly took place at the Docklands Studios Melbourne facility, located approximately from the Melbourne city centre. Some scenes were shot at the Abbotsford Convent, located in the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Abbotsford, the foyer of 333 Collins Street, the University of Melbourne old quad, and at the RMIT Design Hub.

In regard to Snook, the Spierig brothers explained to the media that they always seek to cast a lesser-known actor in their films. Michael Spierig later compared Snook's acting ability to that of fellow Australian actress Cate Blanchett. They also said that they prefer to film in Australia, with its rebates and incentives, but will film in any geographical location.

Release

''Predestination''s global premiere was held on 8 March 2014 at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, US. The film was then selected for the opening night gala of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), held at the Hamer Hall venue on 31 July 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. The MIFF promotional material described ''Predestination'' as a "distinctive blend of sci-fi, noir and crime fiction with a Bukowskian streak." The Sydney premiere of the film, which also featured a live Q&A session with the directors, occurred on 6 August 2014 at the Palace Verona cinema.

The film went on general release in the United Kingdom on 13 February 2015. Following the release of two trailers, and a seven-minute excerpt that was published on 3 December 2014, ''Predestination'' premiered on 9 January 2015 in the United States.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film had a score of 84% based on 111 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9 out of 10. The site's critical consensus stated: "Fun genre fare with uncommon intelligence, ''Predestination'' serves as a better-than-average sci-fi adventure—and offers a starmaking turn from Sarah Snook." The film also has a score of 69 out of 100 on Metacritic based on reviews from 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

''Variety'' magazine's review of the film called it an "entrancingly strange time-travel saga" that "succeeds in teasing the brain and touching the heart even when its twists and turns keep multiplying well past the point of narrative sustainability." In anticipation of the MIFF opening night's screening, the ''Sydney Morning Heralds National Film Editor Karl Quinn called Snook's performance a "career-making role". In terms of the plot, Quinn states that it is "intriguing" even though it could "unravel at the slightest tug on a thread of loose logic."

The lead character was variously described as transgender or intersex in different media articles. Hawke told ''The Guardian'' that the narrative is relevant to all people: "There's something about ''Predestination'' that actually does get at identity, for me".

Accolades

''Predestination'' won the 2014 John Hinde Award for Excellence in Science-Fiction Writing in the AWGIE Awards.

See also

* List of time travel works of fiction
* List of LGBT-related films
* " I'm My Own Grandpa", a song mentioned in Heinlein's story and partially heard in the film

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Predestination
2014 films
2010s English-language films
2014 action thriller films
2010s mystery thriller films
2010s science fiction thriller films
2014 science fiction action films
Australian action thriller films
Australian mystery thriller films
Dystopian films
Films about contract killing
Intersex-related films
Films about orphans
Films based on science fiction short stories
Films based on works by Robert A. Heinlein
Films directed by Spierig brothers
Films set in 1945
Films set in the 1960s
Films set in 1963
Films set in 1970
Films set in 1975
Films set in Cleveland
Films set in New York City
Films shot in Melbourne
Time loop films
2010s films about time travel
Australian science fiction thriller films
LGBTQ-related science fiction thriller films
Australian LGBTQ-related films
Films about trans men
2014 LGBTQ-related films
Screen Australia films
LGBTQ-related science fiction films
2010s Australian films
English-language science fiction action films
English-language science fiction thriller films
English-language action thriller films
English-language mystery thriller films