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Oppenheimer

This perfectly-tuned biopic of the father of the atomic bomb has the Nolan stamp of assuredness upon it. The opening gives us scenes of a young-ish Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) getting to know himself and quantum mechanics, intercut with a couple of hearings - a congressional one with Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr) attempting to become U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and a more secretive one to decide on Oppenheimer's security clearance. Sounds pretty dull, to be fair, but Nolan seems to realise the potential for yawns, so he keeps this whole first act zipping along, with constant, escalating music (by Ludwig Göransson) and tight editing (by Jennifer Lame).

Oppenheimer breezes through this flurry and arrives at the central driver of the story - the recruitment of scientists to the Manhattan Project, run by Matt Damon's General Leslie Groves. It's around this time in the story that Oppenheimer starts to realise the potential for destruction that his work entails - he justifies it as a race against the Nazis, themselves attempting to go down the atomic route. Murphy must be on screen for about 95% of this film, and it's through his lens that we encounter people like Albert Einstein (Tom Conti), Niels Bohr (Kenneth Branagh), part-time lover Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh) and even President Harry Truman (Gary Oldman). Throw in the likes of Casey Affleck, Matthew Modine, Josh Hartnett, Rami Malek, Dane DeHaan, Jason Clarke and Alden Ehrenreich and that's some cast, even without Nolan stalwart, Michael Caine.

The final act unpacks the aftermath of the 'success' of the Los Alamos camp, where most of the research was done on the A-bomb. I suppose this is the part of the film where, as Billy Bragg said, "Dr. Robert Oppenheimer's optimism fell at the first hurdle."

There's a lot to recommend about Oppenheimer. It's sublimely paced for a three hour film. Hoyte Van Hoytema's cinematography is stunning. Oscar will come calling early next year, most likely for Murphy and Nolan, maybe even for Emily Blunt (as Oppenheimer's despondent wife, Kitty) and Downey Jr, plus numerous 'technical' gongs. The framing device of the 'witness stand' character references feels very much like a nod to Citizen Kane. And to top it all, I thought the way Oppenheimer sleepwalks calmly through his character assassination really showed how conflicted he had become about his role in shaping history. When Kitty upbraids him about not fighting back, Murphy's drained face speaks volumes. It's as though he has willingly taken on the Prometheus role, meekly allowing his liver to be eaten by his detractors - metaphorically, obvs.

So, why then, didn't this blow me away (sorry) like several other Nolan gems? I'm struggling a bit to put my finger on it. The music, as great as it is, doesn't let up, probably until one key scene of silence. Some of the dialogue is hard to distinguish, but that's par for the Nolan course these days. There are too many characters to try to remember - historically accurate but, come on Chris, steady on.

Ultimately though, I think it's the subject matter that left me a bit cold. This guy's a fantastic case study of genius and the inner turmoil often associated with it. But I was slightly vexed at all the patriotism, even though it was played in a reasonably nuanced and ambiguous fashion. Don't get me wrong - Oppenheimer is a brilliant film, very easy to admire, less easy to love. It's showing in loads of cinemas around the country/world as I write.

See also:

Nolan is a wizard and his 2017 masterpiece, Dunkirk will still take some beating. Alan Resnais' Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959) shows a vastly different perspective to the Manhattan Project.

SPOILERS IN POD!!!

(Film stills and trailer ©Universal, 2023)

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