The other marathon Best Picture nominee. I like Christopher Nolan’s work, and I was interested in the film when it came out, but not in the theater, especially not with its three-hour runtime. For me, it just didn’t rise to the level of navigating the logistics of going to a movie theater during a pandemic. But I’m glad I finally had time to see it.
The film follows the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, primarily his work developing the atomic bomb in the Manhattan Project and a hearing conducted over his loyalties in 1954. Skipping back and forth in time, we see his scientific pursuits directed toward nightmarish weapons of war, along with a McCarthy-era dive through his associations and political leanings.
As I said in my review for Killers of the Flower Moon, I want to revisit this film sometime with strategies to better manage my attention (watching both of these within a week of each other probably didn't help.) I did better with Oppenheimer than with Killers of the Flower Moon, but I know I wasn’t following the movie as deeply as I could have. The length was a challenge for me, but otherwise, I was fine with the nonlinear structure—which I suppose was hardly unexpected, with Nolan at the helm! I’d say the brunt of Oppenheimer’s time at the Manhattan Project progresses in a straightforward fashion, while the framing device of the hearing gives us cause to jump around a little more, pinpointing the events in question that Oppenheimer or the other participants are being asked about.
From a technical and production standpoint, this is all really well done. It always catches my attention when a film mixes black-and-white and color footage, and I find it interesting that here, it’s mostly the latest scenes in the timeline that are shown in black-and-white, while scenes further in the past are in color. I love how Nolan depicts Oppenheimer’s scientific thoughts, the ideas that seize and come over him—it’s both lovely and overwhelming. Everything from the score to the sound design to the cinematography works together to enhance the film, and with a total of 13 nominations, the Academy definitely took notice! Nolan himself is up for both Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, which he cowrote.
I wouldn’t necessarily say the story lets Oppenheimer “off the hook” for the creation of the atomic bomb, but it remains more sympathetic to his viewpoint than not. While the film is certainly not in favor of atomic weapons and takes pains to show Oppenheimer later fighting against nuclear proliferation, it is a little disturbing to me that there are no Japanese characters shown onscreen, even nameless ones. It at times feels like we’re asked to think more about Oppenheimer’s feelings of guilt or uncertainty more so than the ultimate devastating effects of his work.
It's no surprise to say that Cillian Murphy is excellent as Oppenheimer. Nominated for Best Leading Actor, his performance is at once controlled and compelling. Also nominated, in their respective supporting categories, are Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss and Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s second wife Kitty. Both of them turn in nice work, although Blunt’s role isn’t very big. Florence Pugh makes a relatively brief appearance as Oppenheimer’s first wife Jean, and there’s a quick appearance from Rami Malek. The film also features appearances from (deep breath) Jason Clarke, James D’Arcy, Kenneth Branagh, David Krumholtz, Josh Hartnett, Matthew Modine, David Dastmalchian, Matt Damon, Dane DeHaan, Jack Quaid, Casey Affleck (ugh,) and Gary Oldman—phew! A lot of those roles are very small, some basically cameos, but Nolan sure knows how to stack a cast.
Warnings
Disturbing images, sexual content, drinking/smoking, language, strong thematic elements (including suicide,) and involvement of an alleged sexual predator.
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