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Predestination (film)

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Predestination
Theatrical release poster
Directed byThe Spierig Brothers
Screenplay byThe Spierig Brothers
Based on" '—All You Zombies—'"
by Robert A. Heinlein
Produced by
  • The Spierig Brothers
  • Tim McGahan
  • Paddy McDonald
Starring
CinematographyBen Nott
Edited byMatt Villa
Music byPeter Spierig
Production
companies
Distributed byPinnacle Films
Stage 6 Films
Release dates
  • 8 March 2014 (2014-03-08) (SXSW Film Festival)
  • 28 August 2014 (2014-08-28) (Australia)
Running time
97 minutes[1]
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[2]
Box office$5.4 million[3]

Predestination is a 2014 Australian science fiction thriller film[4] 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

[edit]

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

[edit]
  • Ethan Hawke as Agent Doe (listed in film's end credits as "The Barkeep"), an agent of the Temporal Bureau obsessed with catching the Fizzle Bomber
  • Sarah Snook as Jane/John (listed in the film's end credits as "The Unmarried Mother"), a confession stories author whom the Agent recruits into the Temporal Bureau
    • Monique Heath as 10-year-old Jane
    • Olivia Sprague as 5-year-old Jane
  • Noah Taylor as Mr. Robertson of the Temporal Bureau
  • Kuni Hashimoto as the Agent's doctor
  • Christopher Kirby as Mr. Miles, an employee of the Temporal Bureau
  • Christopher Sommers as Mr. Miller, an employee of the Temporal Bureau
  • Cate Wolfe as Beth, the orphanage director who finds baby Jane
  • Ben Prendergast as Dr. Clarke, a doctor who frequents the orphanage
  • Christopher Stollery as the SpaceCorp interviewer
  • Madeleine West as Mrs. Stapleton, who does psychological testing for SpaceCorp
  • Tyler Coppin as Dr. Heinlein, Jane/John's doctor
  • Freya Stafford as Alice, an antique store clerk
  • Christopher Bunworth as Jerry, the Agent's fellow barkeep

Production

[edit]

Development

[edit]

The film is based on the 1959 short story " '—All You Zombies—'" by Robert A. Heinlein.[5] 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.[6] Peter Spierig explained in August 2014 that they remained close to Heinlein's 1959 short story.[7] They did not try to take apart the logic of the more than 50-year-old narrative: "... so we [Spierig brothers] worked on the [premise] that 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."[8]

Ethan Hawke was selected for the lead role, while Wolfhound Pictures and Blacklab Entertainment collaborated to produce the film.[9] 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?!"[7]

Distribution

[edit]

Arclight Films had bought the international rights to the film,[9] and on 18 May 2012, Tiberius Film attained the German rights to the film from Arclight.[10] On 23 May 2012, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions acquired the American and some international rights to the film.[11]

Financing

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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.[12]

Casting

[edit]

On 28 February 2013, Snook signed on to star in one of the film's lead roles,[13] 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.[14]

Filming

[edit]

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.[15] By 13 May 2013, filming was underway.[14] Filming predominantly took place at the Docklands Studios Melbourne facility, located approximately 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from the Melbourne city centre.[16] 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.[8]

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.[8]

Release

[edit]

Predestination's global premiere was held on 8 March 2014 at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, US.[17] 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."[18] 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.[19]

The film went on general release in the United Kingdom on 13 February 2015.[7] 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.[20]

Critical response

[edit]

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."[21] The film also has a score of 69 out of 100 on Metacritic based on reviews from 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[22]

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."[17] In anticipation of the MIFF opening night's screening, the Sydney Morning Herald's 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."[23]

The lead character was variously described as transgender or intersex in different media articles.[24] 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".[7]

Accolades

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Predestination won the 2014 John Hinde Award for Excellence in Science-Fiction Writing in the AWGIE Awards.[25]

Award Category Subject Result
AACTA Award
(4th)[26] 		Best Film Paddy McDonald Nominated
Tim McGahan Nominated
The Spierig Brothers Nominated
Best Direction Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Best Actress Sarah Snook Won
Best Cinematography Ben Nott Won
Best Editing Matt Villa Won
Best Original Music Score Peter Spierig Nominated
Best Production Design Matthew Putland Won
Best Costume Design Wendy Cork Nominated
AFCA Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Director The Spierig brothers Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
Best Actress Sarah Snook Nominated
Best Cinematography Ben Nott Nominated
ACS Award Award of Distinction Won
FCCA Awards Best Film Paddy McDonald Nominated
Tim McGahan Nominated
The Spierig brothers Nominated
Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
Best Actress Sarah Snook Won
Best Cinematography Ben Nott Nominated
Best Editing Matt Villa Won
Best Music Score Peter Spierig Nominated
Best Production Design Matthew Putland Won
Toronto After Dark Film Festival Special Award for Best Sci-Fi Film Won
Special Award for Best Screenplay The Spierig brothers Won
Audience Award for Best Feature Film 2nd place

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "PREDESTINATION (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 3 October 2014. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  2. ^ Karl Quinn (20 February 2013). "Ethan Hawke to make sci-fi film in Melbourne". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  3. ^ "Predestination (2014)". The Numbers. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Arclight Films Acquires Spierig Bros.' 'Predestination'". TheWrap. 14 May 2012.
  5. ^ "Arclight Films Snags the International Rights for the Spierig Brothers' Predestination". Anythinghorror. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  6. ^ McNary, Dave (14 May 2012). "'Predestination' eyes early 2013 shoot". variety.com. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d Godfrey, Alex (29 November 2014). "Ethan Hawke: 'Mining your life is the only way to stumble on anything real'". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  8. ^ a b c Bodey, Michael (20 August 2014). "Spierig brothers tackle time travel in their new movie 'Predestination'". The Australian. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  9. ^ a b Shaw, Lucas (14 May 2012). "Arclight Films Acquires Spierig Bros.' 'Predestination'". thewrap.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  10. ^ Roxborough, Scott (18 May 2012). "Tiberius Takes Ethan Hawke Thriller 'Predestination'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  11. ^ Kit, Borys (23 May 2012). "Ethan Hawke Time-Travel Thriller 'Predestination' Bought By Sony". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  12. ^ Groves, Don (5 September 2012). "Screen Australia Backs Ethan Hawke 'Predestination', 2 Other Projects". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  13. ^ Groves, Don (28 February 2013). "Sarah Snook Set To Star Opposite Ethan Hawke In 'Predestination'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  14. ^ a b Blatchford, Emily (13 May 2013). "Noah Taylor joins Hawke, Snook in Predestination cast". if.com.au. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  15. ^ Swift, Brendan (19 February 2013). "Spierig brothers' Predestination to shoot in April". if.com.au. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  16. ^ Quinn, Karl (20 February 2013). "Ethan Hawke to make sci-fi film in Melbourne". smh.com.au. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  17. ^ a b Chang, Justin (9 March 2014). "SXSW Film Review: 'Predestination'". variety.com. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  18. ^ "MIFF Opening Night Gala 2014". Melbourne International Film Festival. 31 July 2014. Archived from the original on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  19. ^ "Predestination Sydney Premiere and Q&A with Spierig Brothers". Palace Cinemas. 6 August 2014. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  20. ^ Evan Dickson (4 December 2014). "Ethan Hawke Is Looking Rough In This Seven Minute PREDESTINATION Opening Scene". Collider. Complex. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  21. ^ "PREDESTINATION (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster, 89Inc. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  22. ^ "PREDESTINATION (2015)". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  23. ^ Karl Quinn (30 July 2014). "MIFF 2014 review: Predestination". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  24. ^ Henry Barnes (10 March 2014). "Predestination has Ethan Hawke running out of time". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  25. ^ "AWGIE special awards 1973-2015" (PDF). AWG. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  26. ^ "AACTA Winners & Nominees - 4th AACTA Awards". AFI / AACTA. AACTA. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
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