Oppenheimer
Released July 21, 2023
Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan
* No Spoilers - but vague discussions of techniques and comments on some specific scenes *
A tale not of triumph but of tragedy. Christopher Nolan (Inception, The Dark Knight) wrote and directed this chilling look into the man who created the most destructive weapon ever used. Oppenheimer follows its titular character, J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy (Sunshine, Peaky Blinders), through the development of the Atomic bomb and his experience after its use. Showing how our drive for progress, preservation, and dominance pushes us to do the unthinkable and then applaud and celebrate as we unleash destruction on our fellow humans. Oppenheimer will force you to ponder on an existential level the horrors that we continue to impose on ourselves and each other. This is not an easy watch, it’s challenging and thought provoking but it needs to be seen.
Nolan is a master of non-linear story telling. Few of his films progress chronologically and he constantly concocts new ways to present a narrative “out of order”. Oppenheimer uses black-and-white and colour to denote different periods of time, and eventually those scenes gain their hue and saturation when we catch up to them chronologically. The greyscale flashs to the future often withhold information, showing us bits of a scene from a certain point of view where we don’t hear all of the dialogue, only to have that moment finally brought into colour later on. Nolan reveals the full picture and enriches our understanding of the scene using this colour shift. It's an innovative technique that delivers meaning and context without ever putting a date or location on the screen.
A lot of this movie focuses on the process of discovery and the excitement that comes with it, but you don’t need to be a physicist to understand whats going on. Technical discussions about the science are simplified and the character reactions allow the audience to appreciate their importance.
Nolan’s ability to elevate dialogue using all the tools and language of cinema is nothing short of brilliant. One of his signature techniques is to show us two scenes at the same time and jump back and forth between them. Oppenheimer has a spectacular example. Simultaneously intercutting between two dialogue scenes with a swelling audio track, faster cross cuts, and overexposing the film to provide us with a sensory overload as the scene builds to its cathartic climax — no one does this better than Nolan.
Despite this being a politically charged story with lots of moral and social commentary, the movie's stance is largely ambiguous. The message is not clear cut. Ultimately, it succeeds by bringing this watershed moment down to the micro level…through the eyes one man but the film is about so much more than just Oppenheimer or even the invention and use of the Atomic bomb. It is about legacy, pride, pettiness, guilt, and the tragic trajectory of history.
It is not a huge issue but I wish there was more of a direct acknowledgment of the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was alluded to but to have audiences know about the hundreds of thousands of people who suffered from this horrible act and its ongoing and lasting effects would have been appreciated. Also the famous line that Oppenheimer quotes from a Hindu scripture, ‘I am become death’, was very oddly placed and in my opinion unnecessary. I struggle to understand what the audience was to take from it being mentioned in that particular moment instead where Oppenheimer said he thought of it (after the Atomic test).
Cillian Murphy is perfect casting. He plays Oppenheimer as a driven, stoic and pained genius. So much of this performance is in his physicality and especially his eyes, going from bright, trepidatious, and excited to a hollow broken husk of a man by the end of the movie. He becomes an emaciated corpse like figure with eyes plagued by the horror and guilt of what he was part of. Murphy has played supporting roles in most of Nolan’s movies and it is great to finally see him as the lead. I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing this as well as him.
Equally deserving of praise is Robert Downey Jr. (Iron-Man) as Lewis Strauss. Subtle and subdued when needed but fierce and charged as well. You have never seen RDJ like this and it is undoubtedly the best performance of his career. It is still earlier in the year for awards but he will definitely be nominated and be a very close contender for best supporting actor. Nolan is known for reusing actors so I hope this is just the start of an ongoing relationship.
Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place) is tremendous as well, showing all the pain, power, and frustration that her character feels. Florence Pugh (Little Women), Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), and Tom Conti (The Dark Knight Rises) as Albert Einstein, are all wonderful too. The cast is full of famous faces and I wish I could talk about everyone because they all shine even if their roles are limited to a few lines. Despite being so recognizable it was easy to have them get completely lost in the characters they played. That is no small feat especially when it comes to mega-stars like RDJ.
Visually this is a an absolute masterpiece. Hoyt Van Hoytema (Nope) is a veteran with IMAX cameras and has worked with Nolan as a cinematographer before. The construction and composition of shots is incredible and the use of IMAX cameras even in tight spaces or dialogue scenes blew my mind. If you have a full size IMAX screen anywhere close to you please make sure you go. With the exception of a few shots, the majority of this movie fills the entire frame and it would be a completely different experience to see the sweeping vistas and intimate closeups in their proper aspect ratio. As terrifying as it was to see the explosive reality of the Atomic bomb test (which was done with a real explosion), the true brilliance was how powerfully they captured the faces, reactions, and fervent aftermath of the people who experienced the test. The scene where Oppenheimer addresses a crowd after the test is one of the most chilling and compelling scenes I have ever seen in a movie. Just incredible.
Nolan’s recent movies (especially Tenet) have been criticized for dialogue that is hard to hear or drowned out by other sounds. Oppenheimer is clearer and much better mixed but there are still parts the audience may not catch. I could easily understand almost all the dialogue and anything I had difficulty with was not critical. Nolan has said some of this is deliberate citing that sometimes it is more about the feeling, momentum, and rhythm of the scene rather than what is actually being said. Regardless the sound is spectacular. Thundering, powerful and overwhelming as it should be. There are several scenes where the sound effects and the musical score blend together. The sound ramps up with an escalating hum making you beg for the tension to break. It is used so well that when the theatre goes completely silent it is all the more powerful.
Ludwig Goransson (Tenet, Black Panther) is this generation’s most versatile and talented film composer and for me is approaching the ranks of giants like Hans Zimmer and John Williams. His score conveys so much emotion and is inseparable from what is depicted on screen. Listening to the soundtrack alone will tell a story and I was completely enthralled by how it overtook me with billowing tension as the bass swelled up. At the same time, the music could be tender, tragic, and even creepy with the way Goransson uses sharp string sections. This must be experienced in a proper theatre, a home audio set up (even if it costs thousands of dollars) would never be able to replicate the body rattling resonance of a theatre. This is a theatre movie! I know I say that a lot but there is no way you are having a comparable experience with this one at home.
Oppenheimer is the best cinematic experience of the year and one of the most brilliantly made films of the last decade. I am a massive fan of Christopher Nolan and love most of his work but this might be his greatest film both in its technical construction and for the subject matter itself. A moving and powerful reminder of how our continued drive to destroy ourselves, but one that must be seen.
10/10 - A masterpiece through and through. This is not a light or happy experience but it is important and must be respected as a story worth telling and one that is masterfully told. Captivating, difficult and left imprinted in your brain for days or even weeks after you experience it. Go find your closest full size IMAX or 70 mm cinema and watch this as soon as humanly possible!
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