Christopher Nolan Received A Harsh Tenet Review From His Peloton Instructor

Everyone's a critic, including Peloton instructors, it would seem.

The Hollywood Reporter detailed Christopher Nolan's acceptance speech for winning best director for "Oppenheimer" at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. While his work on the biopic earned him admiration from professional reviewers, Nolan took the opportunity to share how criticism can come from anywhere. He learned this first-hand when simply trying to exercise on his Peloton bike. Nolan shared: "The instructor started talking about one of my films and said, 'Has anyone else seen this? Because that's a couple hours of my life I'll never get back again.'"

The clip of the moment, led by instructor Jenn Sherman, was shared online by user @JacobOller on X, formerly known as Twitter, where she calls out "Tenet" by name during a December 2020 session. Not knowing the movie's director would ever see it, she unleashed a tirade, "This song is from a soundtrack of a movie called 'Tenet.' Anybody see this s***? Did anybody see this besides me? Because I need a manual. Someone's got to explain this." 

Fortunately, the acceptance speech proved Christopher Nolan has a good sense of humor. Plus, it was an excellent teachable moment of how criticism isn't something to shy away from but a vital component of the art of filmmaking.

An off-hand comment rarely comes back to bite someone years after the fact, but Jenn Sherman found herself in precisely that position once Christopher Nolan's NYFCC acceptance speech came out. It's an amusing circumstance, and Sherman shared her thoughts on the situation in a video uploaded to her Instagram. Her feelings toward "Tenet" haven't changed, but she's very complimentary toward "Oppenheimer." "I may not have understood a minute of what was going on in 'Tenet.' That s*** went right over my head. But I have seen 'Oppenheimer' twice. And that's six hours of my life that I don't ever want to give back."

Ultimately, this story should be taken as an amusing anecdote. All parties involved acted with class, and it's a good reminder of how the world is more interconnected than ever before. Sherman even extended an olive branch to make things right with Nolan: "Mr. Nolan, I'm inviting you to come for a ride with me in the Peloton studio. You can critique my class. You'll have a great time. You'll sit in the front row. And I promise you it'll be insult-free."

If this Sherman-Nolan collaboration ever occurs, perhaps she could do a class set to the soundtrack of "Oppenheimer." There's nothing like listening to "Trinity" to get the blood pumping.