I have been looking forward to Oppenheimer ever since it was announced. I am unapologetic about my love and adoration for Christopher Nolan, and I revere him as one of the best directors of his generation, someone whose movies are always uniquely “his”, no matter the subject matter. And it precisely is that unique “Nolan” flair that makes this movie such a spectacle. I know the word “spectacle” can be used as an almost derogatory term, but leave it up to Nolan to show you how to make a “humble” spectacle about a guy who developed the atomic bomb. Throughout the years, we have seen many different biopics about various people, from heroes to villains, from great biopics to those ones we would rather forget. And here comes Nolan, and delivers on every front, with our protagonists arguably being someone, who is neither here nor there. Some might see Oppenheimer as a hero we needed at the time, others as a questionable man with a complex past, and this movie presents him with all his flaws and quirks. And it does it in such a cinematic way that you will have a blast.
Usually, I know where I want to start my review and what to mention first because many movies (even great ones) tend to have one category they excel at, whether it’s casting (and therefore performances) or the soundtrack, the camera work, the CGI… With Oppenheimer, there are so many excellent elements/parts that it is hard to pick “the one” I have enjoyed the most. It feels almost criminal not talking about performances first, but I need to start with the score by Ludwig Göransson.
This movie marks Ludwig’s second collaboration with Nolan (he also scored Tenet (2020)), and I sure hope this won’t be the last. As much as I love and admire Hans Zimmer and the movies he has done with Nolan, I would not be mad if Ludwig and Nolan became “best buddies” for a while. It is insane how vital the sound/score is to this film and how it never overshadows what happens on the screen until it must. I am talking about the anxiety-inducing main (?) theme that sounds like a stampede or locomotive leaving the station. Throughout the movie, we can hear it often, and every time we do, we can see Oppenheimer almost “lost”. And I kept wondering what that sound was, and then, the film revealed what it was and… everything “clicked”. You understand not only the significance of the sound but also why it was so vital to our protagonist and his character arc. I hope Ludwig gets recognised and at least nominated for this score.
Speaking of nominations and recognition, let’s talk about actors. As it’s almost a trademark at this point, everyone and their momma want to be in a Christopher Nolan film, so we have half of the Hollywood here, and they all deliver, some I could argue were their best performances ever. Cillian Murphy should get all the awards and recognition he is seriously due as he nails this complex role. Because of the nature of this role, he portrays Oppenheimer in an almost unapproachable manner. There are scenes where you think you understand him, and then there are scenes where you can’t be sure what he thinks or where he stands. It’s almost as if Nolan wanted to tell us that we shouldn’t celebrate him too much, but also, we can’t condemn him either. He asks us to see him for what he was – a flawed person who, unfortunately, was needed at the time. Cillian found that balance of being familiar yet distant and cold when needed and displayed him brilliantly. I can’t imagine this was the easiest performance in his life, but he makes it seem so effortless he deserves all the praise he will hopefully get.
But my biggest surprise with acting performances must have been Robert Downey Jr. Firstly, I didn’t expect his role to be as big as it was; the trailer misdirected us into thinking his role would be more like a cameo, but no, he might have as much screen time as Cillian. And he excels in it. I don’t want to say too much, but it’s a departure for Downey, and he nails it. I wouldn’t be shocked if he managed to get nominated. Jason Clarke has also been awesome; I love seeing Josh Hartnett back in the spotlight, and he seems more sure of himself and his acting than ever before.
I will be honest; at first, I wasn’t sure about Emily Blunt. Respectively, her character. Because for the vast majority of Oppenheimer, she is either crying, drunk or a bit of both. It almost seemed like she was wasted in this role, and then her deposition scene happened, where she went toe-to-toe with Jason Clarke’s character, and you finally see her fully, her character and fierceness. Sure, is she the most flashed-out character here? No, because it’s not her movie; therefore, we don’t get much more of her than absolutely needed, but that scene makes us understand there is more to her than her drinking and crying.
And that is the genius of this movie in a nutshell. Where Oppenheimer shines is by showing us flawed people with certain labels (I didn’t expect that much talk of communism) and how they navigated that era, and more importantly, how you can be more than the ideals you stand for, your “label”. Oppenheimer himself is shown as a communist sympathizer. But he never labelled himself as one, and in reality, he never joined the Communist party either, yet many only saw that. “He supports these ideas; therefore, he must be a communist!” It was fascinating that this biopic about a man who “gave us” the atomic bomb had deeper themes of tribalism that still apply today. Just replace the word communist with any other word that dominates our thinking today – and there are many to choose from, like liberal, democrat, republican, woke, etc. How often do we choose to see each other based on our labels rather than what we stand for? Oppenheimer‘s brilliance is showing us those shades of grey, where you can be on board with many things a certain ideology talks about and yet not be fully on board with it, for whatever reason. Those small details are precisely what made this movie just that tiny bit better, smarter and ahead of most other biopics or films in general.
Another thing I appreciated was another staple of Nolan’s film-making – following several timelines. I won’t lie; at times, it was harder to get my head around where we were in the story or who is this person again, but I expect that to “clear” upon multiple viewings, as is expected for a movie with so many supporting characters, told over several decades, to be slightly convoluted. But I was never lost; the film never confused me; I was able to follow everything, even though some details might have escaped me. Often, my biggest criticism of modern biopics is they don’t cover enough ground, or they would skip over parts that I was intrigued by. I have not had that issue watching Oppenheimer despite its three-hour runtime; I was never bored, and it never seemed like it was too rushed. Sure, some side characters could have been more fleshed out (like his wife, portrayed by Emily Blunt, as already mentioned), but I thought this was an entertaining, well-paced, and brilliantly filmed story.
Have you noticed I have not even mentioned anything about the bomb sequence? It was insane because the moment we saw the bomb test, the cinema was silent, and as I complimented Ludwig’s score before, Nolan knew when to use it and when to pull back. He realises the power of sound/score and uses it so you can be overwhelmed by it, but he also understands the importance of silence and the lack of any score/sound and that made for one of the most memorable scenes in the entire movie. Also, I witnessed one of the biggest jump scares I have seen in non-horror films. I feel like with Nolan’s understanding of moviemaking if he ever decided to shoot a straight-up horror movie, he would have delivered something so unnervingly scary… Think of the elevated horror of Ari Aster and now imagine the “Nolan” touch. I don’t know about you, but I am already terrified. Back to Oppenheimer, I think that somehow tells you how brilliant this movie is if there is a stunningly haunting scene of the atomic detonation, and somehow, I (and many others) have been talking about many other brilliant things. I can easily imagine Oppenheimer climbing up my Nolan ratings as one of the TOP films he directed… and he already has some excellent movies on his resume. Yet somehow, he keeps on getting better.
Overall, Oppenheimer is worth your money. It is a movie I had high expectations going into, and not only wasn’t I disappointed, but the film managed to surprise me with almost everything. From its approach to the story, to how many great actors delivered the career best, to the score, the bomb sequence, everything that happens after… I strongly suspect this movie will age like a fine wine, and the more I see it in the future, the more I will love it. It’s a layered, complex biopic with a runtime of three hours and contains a lot of science and communism talk, and somehow, you don’t feel exhausted at the end. You will feel many emotions, but I can’t imagine “underwhelmed”, “bored”, or “meh” would be one of them. Watch Oppenheimer on the biggest screen possible (I envy everyone living near the IMAX cinema).
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke
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