Film review no.54 - Oppenheimer (2023)

Oppenheimer

Dir. Christopher Nolan ~ 2023 ~ UK/USA ~ 184 mins ~ colour/B&W

J. Robert Oppenheimer: one of the most important figures in scientific history. His creation changed the world, for better or worse is up for debate. He is regarded as a pioneer in the research of nuclear weapons, molecular physics, quantum mechanics, black holes, and neutron stars, and therefore has impacted the world itself in a massive way. Born into a Jewish-German family, Oppenheimer studied chemistry and physics at Harvard, Cambridge, and Göttingen universities and had already earned a PhD at the age of 23. He became a professor at the University of California in 1936 and was appointed director of the Los Alamos Laboratory six years later, where the first nuclear bomb was created as part of the US government’s Manhattan Project. This was first tested in the Trinity Test in July 1945 and was used by the US government less than a month later, causing devastation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1954, a security hearing conducted by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) investigated Oppenheimer, the morality of his actions, and his former affiliations with the Communist Party before and after he worked for the US government. The proceedings ended with his security clearance being revoked and was subject to much debate in the scientific community. This turned a lot of his former allies against him and practically destroyed his career as a physicist.

The film version of Oppenheimer‘s life has been in discussion around the industry since the mid-2000‘s until the start of the 2020's, when filmmaker Christopher Nolan took helm of the project. This is one of Nolan‘s most ambitious and experimental projects and is unique to both his filmography and to cinema as a whole. The script, written by Nolan, was based mainly on the biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. This adaptation follows fact as closely as it creatively could, even down to the smallest details, like Oppenheimer learning Dutch in six weeks and giving a fluent lecture in the dialect, and Kitty Oppenheimer shunning Edward Teller when her husband received the Enrico Fermi award at the White House in 1963. Not only does the truth of the events make it feel more authentic, but it also helps audiences learn about the history of the events shown on screen. This gives us an amazing insight into the life, process, and mind of J. Robert Oppenheimer, along with the effect the atomic bomb and the devastation it caused on him mentally and the heavy pain and guilt that came with it.

I was fascinated by how amazing this film was as a whole, especially visually. The cinematography and editing are top class and stylised perfectly to project Oppenheimer‘s thoughts and emotions to the audience. Christopher Nolan has clarified the difference between the colour and B&W scenes, the former being 'subjective’ (from Oppenheimer’s point of view) and the latter being ‘objective’ (from the audience‘s point of view). The film features no CGI shots, a refreshing thing to know after its overuse in film in recent years. This is especially impressive for a film that is so technically challenging to recreate, as all of the explosions were recreated manually. The Trinity Test scene, with its blazing lights and shuddering blasts, gives the kind of immersiveness you can only get from watching a film in a cinema. It was breathtaking, and when I watched it, the entire theatre was purely silent from the shock. A recent study reported that the Trinity Test caused not only nuclear fallout as far as 150 miles from the explosion in the first ten days, affecting many of the local livestock and causing many infant fatalities and health issues, but spread into forty-six US states and bordering Canada and Mexico and is still causing health problems in the area surrounding it today. The musical score by composer Ludwig Göransson elevates the film without taking the focus away from the action, the highlight of which has to be the illuminating and sublime ‘Can You Hear the Music‘.

The performances given by the cast are sensational. Cillian Murphy has featured in several other Nolan projects, including Inception, Dunkirk, and The Dark Knight Trilogy, but Oppenheimer marks the first time he has received the starring role. His performance here is truly phenomenal, and it is clear how much he put into his portrayal and how he immersed himself in the role. Emily Blunt‘s portrayal of Katherine ‘Kitty‘ Oppenheimer is fascinating and gives a much deeper understanding of the strong person she was than any other portrayal or account. Robert Downey Jr. plays Lewis Strauss, a member and later chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission who initiated the national security hearing against Oppenheimer in 1954. The B&W scenes in the film are shown mostly from Strauss’ perspective. He plays a major part in this film's success and gives what is definitively the performance of his career. Matt Damon, who said he was going to take a break from acting before being offered this role, plays US general and director of the Manhattan Project, Leslie Groves, who also oversaw the creation of the Pentagon. Damon’s performance is brilliant, like the rest of its all-star cast, including Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Rami Malek, Tom Conti, Jack Quaid, Kenneth Branagh and Gary Oldman.

Oppenheimer has become an internet phenomenon due to its release date coinciding with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and is labelled collectively as Barbenheimer. Due to the rush of popularity online, this has prompted people to view both movies as a double feature, which pushed Oppenheimer past $100 million in box office gross in its first five days of release. Largely due to this, Oppenheimer has become a box office success, and over two weeks after its release, it has reached over £500 million. Due to the film's popularity, its run in IMAX theatres (Christopher Nolan’s intended format for the film to be screened) has been extended until the end of the summer. This film is sure to be nominated for many Oscars next year, and after viewing it, it becomes clear that Cillian Murphy is assured to be the recipient of Best Actor. But due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors and writers strikes, the Academy Awards, along with many other award ceremonies and movie and TV productions, have been put indefinitely on hold.

As an overall cinematic experience, Oppenheimer is definitely one of a kind. The ensemble cast is exceptional, and it is amazing that such a talented and varied cast of actors are all featured in such a large film. Visually and structurally, this is one of Christopher Nolan’s best works. The fact that he has yet again taken a new direction with his style in this film shows how diverse and versatile he is as a director. The three-hour runtime of the film can be off-putting, but if you commit to it, it’s definitely worth your time. The length of the film is justified by how crucial all the information in each scene is to building up the story. Oppenheimer as a whole is an opulent and emotional portrayal of a complex man many may not have heard of before and how his invention affected the course of history.