‘Oppenheimer’ is Stunning
Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer | Credit: Universal Pictures
Oppenheimer looks at J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), also known as the father of the atomic bomb. We see his life in the lead-up to the bomb’s creation and its aftermath on his life and career.
This film is an assault on your senses in the best way possible. Though this film is three hours long, it moves at an exhausting and frenetic pace. For three hours, you are sucked into Oppenheimer’s world. From the pacing, to the cinematography, to the score, your senses are bombarded, and the film almost forces you into submission. There’s very little opportunity for your mind to wander as the film speeds through the events of Oppy’s life and the consequences of his greatest achievement.
Christopher Nolan is at the peak of his powers in this film, and it is breathtaking. This film is a great example of a director who knows what he’s doing and exactly how he wants to communicate this particular story. He brilliantly partners up with Hoyte Van Hoytema as the director of photography, and Ludwig Göransson provides a haunting and often overpowering score.
These regular collaborators have once again produced something that is stunning to experience. Nolan and his team know how to make a good movie, but this feels like something of even greater import than Nolan has brought to us previously.
Granted, I did just watch this film, so I might still be too close to my viewing experience to write a more unbiased review. We’ll see in the coming weeks and months if I still feel this way about this film. In the meantime, let’s continue lavishing praise on this particular film.
Emily Blunt in Oppenheimer | Credit: Universal Pictures
Oppenheimer is packed to the brim with incredibly talented actors. It seemed like every few minutes, some other big-name actor would grace us with their presence. Honestly, this is my favorite kind of movie, where I get to test my IMDb-like knowledge of actors and actresses.
With a stacked cast like this, it’s no surprise that we get great performances across the board. Cillian Murphy provides an electric performance as Oppenheimer. And it’s a good thing he’s such a good actor because it feels like 90% of the film is just close-ups of his face.
Murphy embodies all of the complexities of this very complicated protagonist. He’s brilliant, yes, but he’s also egotistical and hated by many. He doesn’t get along well with others, but he’s also able to draw an almost cult-like following among those who admire him. He is intellectually curious, which is difficult for many to understand, especially those who just want to put him in a box. Murphy navigates all of these varied facets of this complicated man, consistently inviting us in to discover more.
Emily Blunt plays Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty. Like many Nolan films, she’s not a main focus, but you better believe that Blunt gives her all in this role. I imagine that there wasn’t a lot for her to work with, but she’s a talented enough actress that she makes Kitty into someone interesting to explore. Even in the moments when she’s in the background or in the corner of the screen, my eyes gravitated to her because she was still acting her heart out.
We see how complex Kitty is throughout the film and how difficult it must have been to be married to a man like Oppenheimer. She lives through so much and makes some interesting choices throughout the film, often playing an interesting contrast to Robert. I wish we could’ve seen more of Kitty, but it is a Christopher Nolan film, so it is what it is.
Robert Downey Jr. plays Lewis Strauss, who is a skilled politician and (unsurprisingly) a complex character as well. And I was blown away by RDJ’s performance. I knew the man could act, but I had grown accustomed to the Iron Man version of him, which was always entertaining and a breath of fresh air in the landscape of the MCU. But in Oppenheimer, we see him playing a completely different character and absolutely nailing it.
RDJ deserves to be nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar… if he doesn’t, I’m going to throw my shoe at someone.
Robert Downey Jr. in Oppenheimer | Credit: Universal Pictures
I could probably write a 20,000 word article all about the phenomenal performance because they’re all great. But I will refrain.
Instead, I want to pivot to some of the complex themes that this film explores. This film is about the man who led the team of scientists who cracked the atomic bomb. With that comes many different thoughts and questions about morality.
Throughout Oppenheimer, we see some scientists acknowledge that this is immoral, and they seek to advocate for the government to use caution instead of unleashing this power. Others know that it’s wrong but continue to participate in the project. And others are gleeful about the bomb’s creation — after all, they are pioneers and have achieved a technical marvel.
It’s so fascinating to watch all of these different dynamics and perspectives interact with each other. Instead of giving us one perspective on the creation of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer gives us a plethora of options to choose from as we reflect on the technical and scientific achievement and the real-world devastation it inflicted.
I think Oppenheimer is really timely for many of the issues we’re facing in the world today. Of course, there’s always the issue of nuclear weapons and other countries developing the same technology that the United States and others currently hold. There are tenuous peace agreements with other countries around the world as we live in a constantly precarious state.
Throughout the film, people advocating for using the atomic bomb were certain that its use would achieve peace. And to some degree, they were right. But we also know the fear that we live in today and how close we are to nuclear war at all times. It’s fascinating to draw a direct line from Oppenheimer’s work decades ago to how we live today.
Another reason why I think Oppenheimer is relevant is because of our current relationship with AI. In the film, we see scientists warning others of the dangers of the atomic bomb, just like AI experts and engineers are warning about this technology. In both cases, there weren’t rules or safeguards around these things, but a strong desire to be the first.
It’s interesting to be living through our own digital version of what’s depicted in the movie. And it will be fascinating to see if we can learn from the mistakes of previous generations or if we’re destined to repeat them.
Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer | Credit: Universal Pictures
I have barely scratched the surface of Oppenheimer. This film assaults your senses (in a good way) and effectively draws you into Oppy’s world. It also covers many different themes that can leave you thinking about for days after. I think this is a technically astounding film and also an incredibly important work.
It’s also worth seeing on the biggest screen possible. If you haven’t yet seen Oppenheimer, prepare to be overwhelmed, but don’t miss this film about an incredibly flawed protagonist and one of the most horrific inventions ever made.