Rating: 8.8/10
Sometimes science fiction delves deep into what it means to be human, sometimes it's just a healthy mindfuck, and that's okay. Predestination is a time-travel tale based on Robert A. Heinlein's story "All You Zombies." I quite lament the fact that they dropped the book's title because I like how tangential it is but I understand that the title is kind of vague for a movie. It did, however, got referenced the film. (FYI I've never actually read the book but I fully intend to after this.)
This movie was directed by Spierig Brothers who also made post-human, vampire-society movie Daybreakers with Ethan Hawke. With Predestination, I came for Ethan Hawke (he never really stood out for me in his acting, but he does make interesting choices in his acting career in the likes of Daybreakers and Gattacca) but I stayed for newcomer Sarah Snook. Snook was ah-ma-zing. She played a central character called Jane, and also the male version of the character. She was the hook of the movie and the reason the movie worked at all. The big premise of the movie is about a time-travelling agent sent to investigate a terrorist, but in its heart Predestination truly is about a heartbroken little girl. Snook completely sold this emotional part of the film, telling stories of her insane life experiences to a random bartender. She had this silent rage as a man, and dejecting brilliance as a girl. Everything the first act of the movie was, worked because of Sarah Snook.
That's not to say Ethan Hawke was bad, he did brilliant job with an understated and underrated character. Maybe that's why he never stood out for me, he tends to be understated and grounded in all of his characters. I need to pay more attention to Ethan Hawke in the future.
It's hard to explain anything about this movie without resorting into spoilers, because everything that's special about it came from the plot (aside from Sarah Snook, but we've covered that). With a brief 97 minutes, Predestination is basically a plot machine (Heinlein actually wrote All You Zombies in a single day as a proof-of-concept that he can write the closed-est closed-loop time-travel story of them all), but TL;DR it is a brilliant plot machine with a very strong emotional core. Right now, you just have to take my word that this is an awesome movie. I might also have to add that that does not mean Predestination is empty or devoid of meaning. Far from it, it provides a study of how home, a sense of purpose and belonging, and gender identity tend to define us all.
That said, Predestination is not perfect. I called out the major plot twist early on, up to the point where I was surprised when I realized they were still treating it as a mystery. But it didn't matter because the movie handled everything very smoothly. And anyway, with time-travelling stories some things just came with the territory. But strangely, with all of its mindfuckery, Predestination didn't feel particularly groundbreaking and there's an interesting theory of why: the fact that the movie was fitted into a thriller mold to make it more contemporary and audience-friendly, in the way that the book wasn't. It certainly broaden its appeal to a wider audience, but for me that's what makes Predestination is still one step away from reaching a cult status. But that's okay, I can live with it. Not every movie had to be Primer.
The Dance of Fate and Free Will
Do we really have free will, or is everything already mapped out for us?
It's the kind of question that's kept philosophers, poets, and theologians up at night for ages. Just asking it feels like standing on a beach, staring out at this massive ocean where what's logical and what's just plain mysterious kind of blend together. If it's all predetermined, then are our choices just an act? Are we just going through the motions in a play we didn't even write? But if we do have free will, then what's setting the limits on what we want, what we can do, and those invisible walls that pop up in our lives?
This push and pull – this back-and-forth between fate and our own choices – it's really what being human is all about, isn't it?
The Illusion of Choice
We like to think we're in the driver's seat, right? Every day, we get up and decide what to wear, what to eat, who to love, who to say goodbye to, and the kind of person we want to become. The world tells us if we just try hard enough, if we're disciplined and really want it, we can create any future we can imagine. "You can be anything," they say. But, can we, really?
Think about how life actually plays out. The family we're born into, the country we call home, the body we're in, those moments of pure luck or just plain bad luck that shape us – we didn't pick any of that. Someone born into a wealthy family in a rich country will never know what it's like for a kid born into war somewhere else. Someone who bumps into their soulmate on a train – are they really more deserving of love than someone who just happened to be on a different train that day? So much of who we become, it's just not in our hands, no matter how much we wish it was.
Even neuroscientists are saying our brains make decisions before we even realize it. If a machine can guess which button you're gonna press before you even "choose" it, what does that tell us about free will? Are we just following a script, but we're tricked into thinking we're the ones writing it?
The Beauty of Predestination
And yet, there's something strangely comforting about the idea that it's all already decided. If fate is a real thing, then nothing is truly wasted. The heartbreaks, the screw-ups, the chances we missed – they all had to happen exactly like they did. You were never meant to end up with that person, never meant to get that job, never meant to be anywhere else but right here, right now. In a way, it takes this huge, exhausting weight of regret right off our shoulders.
Some of the most peaceful people I've ever met are the ones who truly believe in destiny. They just trust that what's meant for them will find them, and what's not will just fade away. They move through life with this quiet confidence, like they're not even bothered by problems. There's a kind of beauty in just letting go and going with the flow, seeing life as something that just unfolds, instead of something we have to fight and control all the time.
But Then Again, What If?
But even if it's all predetermined, does that mean we should just give up and do nothing? If a river already knows it's going to end up in the ocean, does it just stop flowing?
Maybe free will isn't about controlling everything, the whole grand plan, but about how we feel it. Maybe the whole point is just the joy of making choices, of having dreams, of just acting on whatever we feel like doing in the moment. Even if your future is set in stone, isn't there something exciting about not knowing what's around the corner? If fate is real, then so is the amazing thing of being clueless about it. You still get to feel things, to move, to chase after whatever calls to you. And isn't that a kind of freedom in itself?
Think about this: Say your fate is to become a painter. But the second you pick up a brush for the first time, it just clicks. It feels like your choice, like you discovered something amazing. That feeling of joy, it was always going to happen, but that doesn't make it any less real, does it? Maybe you were always meant to read this, to think about this, to feel that little spark of "aha!" Maybe even the feeling of free will is part of the plan, and isn't that actually kind of a relief?
So, whether you're team fate or team free will, live like your choices actually matter. Love like it wasn't already written in the stars. Create like it wasn't a done deal. Because, when you think about it, if destiny does exist, it's probably already figured in your rebellious side anyway.
With thoughts of G♡