Review: Predestination starring Sarah Snook and Ethan Hawke

REVIEW: In the new film Predestination, Australia’s Sarah Snook is extraordinary – but Ethan Hawke can barely summon any interest.

THERE is many a deep and meaningless moment in Predestination, but this line takes the cake: “It’s never too late to be who you might have been.” 

A nice sentiment ... if you happened to find it inside a cheap fortune cookie.

However, it’s a bit rich when said out loud in a time-travel movie that wastes a lot of time, and barely travels anywhere.

Predestination is the third work from Brisbane’s talented Spierig brothers. It’s also their third straight effort where a smattering of good, left-of-centre ideas is spread far too thinly.

Whether by design or delusion, the Spierigs conspicuously back away from the calendar-shredding urgency of modern time-travel classics such as Looper and Source Code.

ANDROGYNOUS: Sarah Snook’s new role in Predestination

Wastes time ... Ethan Hawke in a scene from the Australian film Predestination.

Instead, almost 50 valuable minutes of their movie is blown on a stilted, slogging exploration of a backstory that should have been shaved down to a swift flashback sequence or two.

Lead actors Sarah Snook and Ethan Hawke spend the first half of Predestination nattering away in a scuzzy booze joint in the 1970s. 

Extraordinary ... Sarah Snook in a scene from Predestination.

Snook plays a man who used to be a woman who once had a baby and almost became an astronaut. Hawke plays a time-travelling secret agent working undercover as a barman while pursuing a dangerous terrorist known as the Fizzle Bomber.

Once the filmmakers finally remember to shift gears and get going with the good stuff — and it must be said the actual schematics of the script’s time-travel content is fascinating stuff — it is far too late.

Too late? ... Ethan Hawke in a scene from Predestination.

How late? Too late for Predestination to be what it might have been.

Bit of a shame, really, as the breathtaking range displayed by Snook to meet the imposing demands of her unusual character deserved a better showcase than this.

The Australian actor remains decisively engaged to proceedings throughout, whereas the best vibe Hawke can summon is faintly interested on the odd occasion.

Director: The Spierig Brothers (Daybreakers)

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor.

2 stars

Originally published as Review: Predestination starring Sarah Snook and Ethan Hawke