Review: Oppenheimer

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Written by: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh

Rating: [4.5/5]

Theory versus practical application has quite the gulf in understanding where individuals can think up ideas, but realizing them could have unintended impacts well beyond what those theorizers ever thought possible. It’s what ultimately spurs each theory to go into thorough speculation and tests before it comes to fruition just like what transpires in decade-spanning and meal-of-a-film Oppenheimer. An awe-inspiring production in combining its supreme technical elements with quite the narrative pulling it all together. 

With World War II raging on and the fear ramping up because the Germans successfully split the atom, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) gets tapped by US Army Colonel Leslie Groves (Matt Damon) to lead the Los Alamos Laboratory to build an atomic bomb. With the mounting pressure of getting this done reckons with the purpose of this weapon while in the future Oppenheimer gets questioned for his connections to the communist party at the height of McCarthyism. 

For as much as biopics receive criticism for their inability to delve into something deeper into the individuals highlighted but rather brush over certain moments of their lives, Oppenheimer comes in as the ultimate reprieve for those wishing for something greater. Something that not only teaches us more about the subject but delves into something much larger than that person overall and how their impact has led into some existentially challenging times. Unsurprisingly, Christopher Nolan helmed this project in making a biopic in ways unseen before and the journey he takes us on through the various stages of Oppenheimer’s life completely transfixed me. 

As one can expect from a Nolan film, none of it occurs in a straightforward manner with its narrative. As the master of non-linear storytelling, we weave through Oppenheimer’s life not necessarily chronologically but rather how each of these critical moments compound on each other to construct the overall image Nolan seeks to display. These cuts in-between each of these time periods best get deciphered by keeping track of Oppenheimer’s hair and the progressive graying that happens as he gets older. However, each of these polar moments carry their own singular story within Oppenheimer’s life in addition to what they all combine to. The journey to building the bomb has the inspirational moments of building something so monumental in human history, while the moments afterward has this political angling that has thriller elements. It makes for a fascinating fusion. 

Through each phase of Oppenheimer’s story we get interactions with various characters and how they relate to the overall story. Nolan gives them all great material to chew on, and each of them really delivered, especially the men. Unfortunately, as has become commonplace in scripts written by Nolan where he usually does not do right by his women characters and that happens once again here where they do not feel like actual characters in this movie but rather just individuals with no real depth to them. The same cannot be said about Lewis Strauss, Ernest Lawrence, Edward Teller, or the other important figures of the story. Never a strength of Nolan has evidenced by his previous films but when so much brilliance gets packed into this film and particularly his screenplay, having this prevailing deficiency becomes hard to ignore. 

When focusing on Oppenheimer, this film does a fantastic job of digging into his psyche as he progresses towards the bomb and then deals with the ramifications afterward. This journey comes with plenty of introspection as the man struggles with reckoning with what he creates and the implications it has for the rest of humanity. It goes back to the idea of theory versus practical application. It’s one thing to decide they can build something this destructive as a scientific feat, but the practical application of it guarantees the deaths of so many instantly and impacts for generations to come. He refers to himself as a “destroyer of worlds” and this complication of his feelings present themselves in some truly visually astounding ways, with the rally he attends being one of them. One of the most impactful scenes of the film that serves as the perfect segway to speak on the crafts this film has to offer. 

If his screenplays serve as Nolan’s weakness, his ability to make any film an event unlike anyone else in the game certainly stands as his greatest strength. The box office receipts speak for themselves in this manner, and part of what helps is his insistence in creating something grand, which gets helped along by the incredible technicians and artists he attaches to his projects to make for something magical on each attempt. In this film we get another collaboration between Nolan and Ludwig Göransson, who once again delivers an incredible score that truly digs into the ominous dread that hangs over this film. Hoyte van Hoytema delivers some astounding cinematography in both the small scenes and those where it needs to completely show out but the editing by Jennifer Lame deserves plenty of praise. The manner in which she cohesively pieces together this story and makes these three hours completely fly by mightily impressed. Each of these three individuals won Academy Awards for their contribution to the film and with good reason. 

Every tremendous actor deserves their time in the spotlight and it arrived for Cillian Murphy in this film. Someone who excels in every role he takes on but never given as much of a platform as he received in this film, he just reached a whole new level with his portrayal of Oppenheimer. He showed no interest in imitation but capturing the essence of this man in bringing him to life and Murphy delivers in fine form. His supporting cast all deliver in spades as well with a great ensemble, each getting their part to play in the story. 

With Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan delivers one of the greatest biopics of all-time, which makes sense as this man succeeds in all avenues he seeks to take on. It makes me excited to think about what other genres he could jump into and completely revitalize with the brilliance he has behind the camera. I’d imagine he’d make a brilliant Western and make it an event experience as well. In this film he delivers another sumptuous film and one that will put one’s sound system to the test and entertain all the senses.