The opening scene of the film suggests we're getting one kind of film, but in later scenes we realize we're actually getting something quite different. The film starts with Ethan Hawke trying to stop a bomber, only to fail and have his face burned horribly. He is given reconstructive surgery and we learn that he is in fact a time traveler who has tried - and failed - repeatedly to stop this bomber in the past. Due to his failures, his boss gives him one final assignment: to go to the 70's to recruit a new agent that they've been watching for some time.
It is at this point the film takes a sharp left turn into a character study, and at its center is a bit of a spoiler that must be revealed in order to discuss what makes the film so great. It's given away within the first ten minutes of the film, but it was a surprise to me when I saw it. Knowing it won't spoil the film or its other twists, but it's one of those moments that catches you by surprise as it happens. Ethan Hawke seems to now be working at a bar in the 70's, although why we can't yet tell. A man comes in to the bar and the two strike up a conversation. It takes a while, but we come to learn that this man is actually transgendered and was born a woman. It's a testament to the subtle makeup and the performance of Sarah Snook as the bar patron that I was caught off guard by this revelation. But once we know this fact, the film dives into Snook's character and her past. After setting up a life and death situation with a terrorist on the loose, the film eases back and lets us spend thirty minutes in flashbacks with this new character. It seems like an odd choice at first, but it pays off in numerous ways.
Snook is a revelation in the part. She conveys so much through the subtle ways she changes from female to male over the course of the film. It goes beyond physical and aural tricks, into something more deeply realized. The film is more her story than Hawke's, and you quickly either get on board with that fact or you don't. For me, I found that the use of time travel as a way to smuggle in this far more complex and nuanced character study was inspired. The film hooks you with its flashy opening, then pulls the rug out from under you just when you think you know what you're going to watch. I had no idea what the film was about going in, and realizing it was more about Snook's journey of self discovery than fighting terrorists, I was delighted. And then, just when you think the film is going to be all about her back story, it again pulls the rug out from under you as it reminds you that Hawke was sent back to her for a reason.
Predestination is a solid character study with enough genre pleasures to bring in general audiences. The fact that it smuggles in a story of transgendered self-discovery was unexpected but essential to the story it's trying to tell. Sarah Snook is the reason to see this film, and where the film takes her character over 90 minutes is surprising and thrilling. As with most time travel films, this one ends with a twist. Unlike many of those other ones, the twist is well earned because it lays the essential groundwork needed for us to care about the characters when the end does come. I look forward to what Sarah Snook does next, as her performance here is revelatory.
