Review 692: Oppenheimer

  

Oppenheimer is amazingly, astonishing biographical drama film, a fascinating character study and a showcase for Christopher Nolan's brilliant filmmaking.

Based on the biography, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird & Martin J. Sherwin, the film chronicles the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist who is recruited to lead the Manhattan Project to develop the first nuclear weapons and thereby ushering in the Atomic Age.

Told in Nolan's signature non-linear style, the 1950's segments which showcase the hearings and investigations of Oppenheimer in regards to his alleged communist sympathies are beautifully shot in black-and-white while the 40s section of the film showcases Nolan's intricacy's as he takes along Oppenheimer's fascinating journey but to also take us inside his head and    We see his humble beginnings as he learns from philosopher Niels Bohr (Kenneth Branagh) at Cambridge all the way to being recruited for the Manhattan Project by Leslie Groves (Matt Damon)  In the lead up to the Trinity Test, they were dealing with the very small possibility that when they pushed the button, they would set fire to the atmosphere of the Earth and destroy the whole planet and yet they pushed that button.

Nolan's work has often featured protagonists who are, in one way or the other, responsible for their own destruction; J. Robert Oppenheimer fits this archetype to a T. A self sabotaging idealist who's unchecked overconfidence led to create humanity's ultimate weapon. 

Despite its runtime of three hours, Oppenheimer has a great sense of pacing   the effects are all marvellous, an amazing showcase for Nolan's emphasis on practical effects and minimal CGI to create a visual mastery that surpasses the VFX work of modern blockbusters, the score by Ludwig Goransson is spectacular, the locations are fabulous and lend the film a strong sense of period detail and verisimilitude. The production design is terrific, the costumes are lavish  and the effect of the closing sequence is devastating as if Oppenheimer has opened a Pandora's box he can never close again. The cinematography is beautiful, lensed with the large format IMAX 65 mm film that captures the lush scenery of the New Mexico desert but also to contrast Oppenheimer's external coolness and inner turmoil. 

One of the most consistent areas that Nolan has excelled in is directing ensemble Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Remi Malek, Emma Dumont, Benny Safdie, Dane DeHaan, Jack Quaid, Tom Conti, Matthew Modine, Dylan Arnold, Olli Haaskivi, Alden Ehrenreich, David Krumholtz, Michael Angarano, Kenneth Branagh, Gary Oldman, David Dastmalchian, Jason Clarke, Louise Lombard, Scott Grimes, Christopher Denham, James D'Arcy, Devon Bostick, Matthias Schweighofer, Gustaf Skarsgard, Josh Peck, Alex Wolff, Tony Goldwyn, Macon Bair, James Remar, Tim DeKay & Olivia Thirlby, It's a stacked cast and rather awesome. Some of these roles are smaller than others, but a large majority of them get a chance to shine.

Cilllian Murphy is a charismatic actor with an hugely commanding screen presence which he brings to the role of J. Robot Oppenheimer. Playing him as a complicated individual  He opposed the development of the H-bomb on the grounds that it would just promote the arms race. He starred into the abyss and saw the end of mankind. His mind was gripped by an existential dread at the horror he had so carelessly unleashed because of a nieve belief that he could control it. 

Emily Blunt is her usual fabulous self playing Katherine Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer's wife. She refused to conform to the feminine ideals of the time. She had a defiance against the system that was very modern. She's faithful to Robert even though he's not 

Matt Damon  playing Leslie Groves, a USACE officer who recruits Oppenheimer to lead the Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and Groves are like Chalk and Cheese because on hand, the former is this young, naive physicist who doesn’t think the consequences of his actions and then we have Groves who is this brash, no-nonsense Army officer who was almost akin to a kindergarten teacher because the scientists were so eccentric and not necessarily trustworthy from a military perspective. These two contrasting personalities are what make them such an inspired double act.    

Robert Downey, Jr. is fantastic playing Lewis Strauss. Strauss offered Oppenheimer a job a the director of The Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and then he showed the Advisory of the Atomic Energy Committee and Oppenheimer lobbied for control of nuclear power having been basically the Father of the Bomb, he immediately began lobbying for control of it. and really just a terrific foil for Murphy's Oppenheimer. He was a righteous guy; a great public servant and a cunning politician but he was always behind the scenes. It's not hard to see why he was considered a villain in American history.

Despite being only a bit part, Florence Pugh gets a chance to shine playing psychiatrist Jean Tatlock, she was blunt, knew what she wanted but was also troubled 

5/5.