Friends at Dusk

On revisiting art from Christopher Nolan to Ariana Grande

I love whenever a pop star drops a new project.

Because it always invariably leads to a re-evaluation of their previous work, particularly work that was once maligned. Recently I've seen people online tweeting different versions of, "y'all slept on 'The Light Is Coming.' Ariana did that." Which, duh!! I didn’t sleep on a damn thing. I've been in the Sweetener trenches since summer 2018.

First, Ariana Grande dropped her fourth studio album in the midst of Leo season, so it felt like a gift. But I've also always been a fan of R&Biana. When "Right There" dropped? I was right there. "Hands on Me" went platinum in my house. "Everyday" might be Ari's best song. So when Sweetener drops with all of Pharrell's R2-D2 beeps and whistles, I was on board.

I don't particularly know why the album is now being favorably revisited, but it probably has something to do with the dance music renaissance we've been in since we exited lockdown. Dance floors are crowded and I see more friends than ever, myself included, hitting the club on the weekends. I have a newfound love for house, electronic, and even techno music that's been born from frequent visits to Basement, Unter (RIP), various other pop-up warehouse venues in Brooklyn, and Amsterdam's De School (RIP).

I love a reevaluation, however. There's nothing quite like revisiting something you had ill feelings toward, but now find you have a different perspective. Most recently, this happened with Christopher Nolan's film Tenet.

Initially released in September 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, I had no interest in going to see this film in theaters (the first film I left the house to see post-Covid was Godzilla vs. Kong in April 2021). Which was not at all how Nolan wanted people to see his film. He's become known now for insisting that people see his movies on the big screen and not their phones (most directors feel this way, but they weren't being this vocal about it in 2020). But Covid aside, I had skipped Dunkirk already (I'm not a fan of war films), and Interstellar and The Dark Knight Rises were far from films I had intentions of revisiting. Maybe I was off Nolan for a minute.

I watched the film at home with my then-roommate, stoned as hell mind you, and sank into the couch as my brain tried figuring out what the fuck was going on. I never thought about Tenet again.

That is, until one of my good friends Angelina insisted that it's her favorite Nolan film and that I should see it when it returned to theaters in IMAX. Angelina and I share many tastes — Beyoncé and Survivor namely, so I tend to trust her when she says I'll dig something. So I bought a ticket to see Tenet last week. But before then… I had to finally see Oppenheimer.

Oppenheimer is one of two Oscar nominated films I'd managed to miss (the other is The Zone of Interest, which I'll get to before the ceremony), mostly because of my feelings that I was kinda off Nolan's films. I didn't really have much of an excuse once it was finally added to Peacock, so I watched it at home with the lights out, Dolby surround system on, and my phone on airplane mode. Whenever people insist that there are too many distractions at home to take in "serious" films, it feels more than a little pretentious. I fell in love with movies by renting them from Blockbuster as a kid and watching them on our tiny television in the den. And frankly, other than my phone, my home has less distractions than a movie theater. If I have to pee, I can pause it and be back quickly without missing anything. There aren't people breathing next to me!

Did I like Oppenheimer? Yes. Ultimately, it's a film I respect more than enjoy, because I don't think I'll revisit it anytime soon. But after listening to a bunch of Nolan interviews on the film and his process in making the film, my years-long break with Nolan is officially over. How can you not love a man who lives cinema as much as he does? And a man who can make a historical biopic feel as thrilling as a Batman film?

And that's exactly what Nolan does with Tenet. But it's not Batman, it's more James Bond. With the Black Bond that everyone's been clamoring for since Idris Elba was first fancast as 007. Watching the film on the big screen made me realize that Nolan was just making a slick popcorn blockbuster with some wacky ideas about time and space, which is no different than most insane Bond plots.

Somehow, Tenet became synonymous with a Rubik's Cube. An impenetrable film that required more brainwork than necessary for an action film. Maybe it's because I'd already seen it, but the plot wasn't confusing in the least this time and the joy of catching moments laid in for repeat viewings made my smile light up.

And then there's the relationship I picked up on the second time. I was so focused on John David Washington and Elizabeth Debicki that I didn't pick up on the most important relationship of the film — JDW and Robert Pattinson. It's a film about two best friends! And I might have had tears in my eyes at the end at this final moment between them:

The Protagonist (JDW): Hey you never did tell me who recruited you, Neil.

Neil (Pattinson): Haven't you guessed by now? You did! Only not when you thought. You have a future in the past. Years ago for me, years from now for you.

The Protagonist: You've known me for years?

Neil: For me, I think this is the end of a beautiful friendship.

The Protagonist: But for me it's just the beginning.

Neil: We get up to some stuff. You're gonna love it.You're only halfway there. I'll see you in the beginning, friend.

I immediately had to rewatch their first scene in the film when I got home. Realizing now that Neil knew this was going to be the last time he'd ever see The Protagonist, their last mission together. There isn't enough media about how important friendships are — particularly amongst men.

And not just gay men, but straight men too. Stories that offer an alternative to the heterosexual bullshit that's pushed onto people online about how men should interact with one another. Some of my closest relationships in my life have been with straight men who've had a comfort and ease with being friends with a gay man that still seems radical now.

And more than anything, Ludwig Göransson 's score for Tenet is a fucking banger. Like I said, I stay in the club. And I'd honestly kill to hear "Rainy Night in Tallinn" on the dance floor.