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Oppenheimer Movie Review: Simply put, Oppenheimer is possibly the most distinct thing Christopher Nolan has done yet, while still incorporating eccentricities that are peculiar to him. We are so used to Nolan making films that feel larger than life that tackling a subject like J Robert Oppenheimer feels comparatively small, but Nolan still manages to pull the rug under our feet and present a tragedy bolstered by career-defining performances that will simply leave you floored. Oppenheimer: Five Minutes Preview of Christopher Nolan’s Upcoming Biopic Gives Sneak Peek Into Life of J Robert Oppenheimer and Manhattan Project (Watch Video).
Featuring Cillian Murphy as J Robert Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer is based on the novel American Prometheus and follows his early life while putting a huge emphasis on his involvement in the infamous Manhattan Project, and also his trial for being a suspected communist. It's a film that focuses on the pitfalls of arming humanity with its most lethal weapon yet, and that's essentially what Oppenheimer is about.
The first thing that struck me about Oppenheimer was how different it felt from other biopics. This is a non-linear film with linking strands (a Nolan classic) that is exclusively concerned with delivering a profound story about a deeply broken human. In some ways, Nolan has allowed himself go entirely overboard here, which can make some of his design choices connected to the screenplay appear overwhelming, but there is no disputing that this is his best writing in a long time.
Take films like Tenet or Dunkirk, which are mainly intended to be experiences propelled by their set pieces; nevertheless, Oppenheimer takes you right into the intimacy of the scenario, hooking you in from the opening shot. There's no disputing that Cillian Murphy performs his greatest work yet as Oppenheimer, and there is just sometimes this lifelessness behind his eyes that makes so much of Murphy’s performance seem unsettling. Throughout the film you can see the ground beneath his feet shrinking as the gravity of what he has done sinks into him, and in those moments, Oppenheimer feels like a cautionary tale for today’s world. Murphy clearly understands that this is a deeply unstable person, and in that regard does it just make for an engaging three hours.
Watch the Trailer for Oppenheimer:
How do you sympathise with a man that gave humanity the ability to destroy itself? That’s the question Oppenheimer begs to ask, and the obvious answer to that is you don’t. Never is he painted as world’s hero in the subtext of the film. The world might cheer him on, but even he knows that he has blood on his hands. Of course, post-Hiroshima and Nagasaki America was quite nonchalant about it, but it's a guilt that Oppenheimer has to live with, and it depicts itself as a Greek tragedy in which one simply flew too near to the sun and had his wings clipped. It's grand in the most intimate meaning of the word, and Nolan absolutely understands it.
Nolan's dialogue is also among the best it has been in a long time. Imagine Aaron Sorkin's line readings in Steve Jobs and the snappiness of The Social Network mixed in with nuclear paranoia - that's Oppenheimer, and the majority of the dialogues is delivered flawlessly by the actors while Ludwig Goransson's frightening and loud score blares in the background. Every actor has their opportunity to shine, and just mentioning this loaded cast individually would exceed the word count I am aiming for, given that everyone is on their top game here.
Robert Downey Jr gives his best performance as Lewis Strauss, the chairman of the AEC (Atomic Energy Commission). It's a fantastic insight into his talents as a character actor, something that playing Iron Man for nearly 11 years may have robbed him of, and yet he just reaffirms why he'll always be one of our generation's most cherished stars. Matt Damon's performance as Leslie Groves is also noteworthy, and Alden Ehrenreich and Kenneth Branagh excel in their brief appearances.
Where Oppenheimer does fail its cast though is in its female leads. Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer has her moments in the second half after not being present much in the first, but Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock is restricted to a very limited part. The film is particularly concerned with Oppenheimer's infidelity in his relationships, yet that component is just briefly mentioned, which was a bit disappointing.
When it comes to films, Nolan is known for pushing the technicalities, and Oppenheimer is no exception. Cinematographer Hoyt van Hoytema frames the film in the style of a horror film and a straight-up court drama at times. Every impact of the picture is felt in your seats, and the entire screen is covered in some of the most striking imagery you will see at the cinema this year. The bomb detonation scene, in particular, is hauntingly beautiful, with sound design that immerses you in the action. Oppenheimer: Cillian Murphy Reveals Christopher Nolan's World War II Biopic Took Only 57 Days to Shoot.
There is just this structure to Oppenheimer that makes it a bigger deal than it had any right to be, and in that regard is where Nolan succeeds the most. For telling a story about one of the most important men who, for the better or the worse, helped shaped our modern world, Oppenheimer is a spectacle in the sense of the word.
Final Thoughts
With Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan once again demonstrates why he is the finest in the business. It's a cautionary tale fueled by some career-defining performances that will keep you riveted in the greatest way possible. Portrayed as a tragedy of humanity that maintains the anxiety of an impending doom, the film lives up to the hype. Oppenheimer releases in theatres on July 21, 2023.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 20, 2023 12:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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