STORY
During World War II, US Army general Leslie Groves offered physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to become the director of the Manhattan Project. Although Oppenheimer accepted and despite leading to a successful mission, his legacy and reputation were at stake when in 1954, during the McCarthy era, he was accused of being a Communist and a Soviet spy.
INTRODUCTION
Oppenheimer is based on J. Robert Oppenheimer’s biography “American Prometheus” written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. A special thanks to actor Robert Pattinson who gifted Christopher Nolan a book of Oppenheimer’s speeches. These materials inspired him to direct Oppenheimer.
This three-hour epic biodrama mostly focuses on the 1954 Oppenheimer Security Hearing, his role in the Manhattan Project, the accusations against him, and his sporadic affair with Jean Tatlock.
REVIEW
Oppenheimer, in its entirety, drives you to understand Oppenheimer that perhaps, a big perhaps, he was obsessed in creating a bomb that the Nazis cannot or do not. Being a Jew and observing the Jewish consequences of the war, his immense hatred for Adolf Hitler gave General Groves an idea to hand the world-changing project to a Jew.
The building of Oppenheimer’s character grows smoothly with the screenplay and intensifies in the middle of the story. You can feel yourself in his shoes and feel the heat that sweats him after getting stuck in the ugliest mashup of quantum mechanics, communism, world war, and sex. Nolan smartly executed these four outrageous bombings of Oppenheimer’s personal pie graph and showed us that before America was preparing the new world for which no one was ready, Oppenheimer was already bombed. The film successfully dramatizes the complexity of Oppenheimer’s life.
This film is not a usual path of gathering around and get the candies of the offered. Oppenheimer is a blend of science and politics that is brilliantly transformed in a cinematic format. The film is talkative but fruit for a wise. I do not believe that the viewers will have ever taken keen interest before in advanced physics such as ‘Quantum Mechanics’ as much as in this film. A three-hour non-action historical drama based on a physicist with more than half of the film dramatizing trial and hearing with a worldwide grossing of almost three commas definitely indicates that physics has found its cinematic voice with much excellence in almost every technical aspect.
Observe that most of the scenes of the film that has Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss is in black and white format. This can be a metaphor of dramatizing the culprit colorless. What is your opinion about keeping a lot of scenes black and white? Share your opinions below.
TECHNICALITIES
Most of the aspects look Oscar-promising. Jennifer Lame‘s editing was visibly challenging as the film adopted a nonlinear narrative. Observe all the interrogation scenes with Oppenheimer and the table conference with Strauss. Nolan recreated the town of Los Alamos, just like Oppenheimer asked Groves to build a town for creating the bomb in secrecy. So for the entire setup, the production designing of Ruth De Jong deserves the credit.
The background score of Ludwig Göransson not really bought me but I will praise his effort to somehow go in through the story and compose some interesting pieces on it. The winning piece of all compositions was that entire tense-building score when the bomb is about to explode, and when attorney Roger Robb pressing Oppenheimer goes very intense. I think without the score, those two scenes may not have fried the viewers.
Once again, Nolan used no CGI in the film at all. The Trinity test was also not real, I mean he didn’t really detonate an atomic bomb but magnesium, gasoline, propane, and aluminum powder were used to recreate the blast. Nolan is so adhere to realism, I feel if he ever makes an animated film based on animals, he may invite the animals to voice over the characters.
Speaking of explosion scene, I think that entire shot of waiting for the explosion was superbly orchestrated that took around five minutes. Oppenheimer addressing the rally and imagining the consequences. Notice the excitement in the rally turning into mourning.
Nolan’s films are known for many great qualities, one of the many that always impresses me are fast exchange of dialogues and many of those lines are hard-hitting and blunt. Always reminds me of Aaron Sorkin‘s style of dialogues exchange. This film also leaves no equation of disapproval. During the process of recruiting for the Manhattan project, Oppenheimer meets one of the listed to whom he pushes that they need us. His reply? “Until they don’t”. OUCH!!! That is the first head-shot to Oppenheimer in this dirty game.
CAST
There are so many well-known actors. To fit them in a 3-hour film needs a powerful screenplay. Otherwise, there is 99% chance for such assembling of actors to be considered ‘dragged’. Oppenheimer, with all that incredible casting, sent a bullet message that the casting was to fill the gap where the script demanded. It is the smart continuity of the screenplay that balanced their longer and shorter appearances. Their weight of appearance never mattered. Each of them was important to the story. The one I missed was definitely Nolan’s favorite, Michael Caine who collaborated with Nolan in eight consecutive films.
Seems like Oppenheimer will not only dominate at the coming Oscars in the technicalities but also for the performances. Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer and Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss look pretty clear favorites to actually win the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards. Their nominations look stamped. I will not be surprised if Emily Blunt and Matt Damon also show up in the nominations. Coming fresh building the legendary status of Thomas Shelby, one of the best decisions of Christopher Nolan for the film was selecting the right face for Oppenheimer. Cillian’s facial features are visibly more obstructing. In the transition of the burning struggles to achieve the unforgettable, the weight of pressure of his acting is very dogmatizing. The body language clearly melts once he begins to regret and realize their bigger plans of his brainchild.
And another actor after building the legendary status of Tony Stark, has arrived on stage with his most stunning performance in ages. Notice Robert Downey Jr. going nuts about Oppenheimer after the hearing.
MINUSES
Shocking isn’t it? Well for me, there are minuses in my opinion. There will never be a perfect film so that I ever give 10/10. You know why? Because that will defy nature.
1. Follow-up from the Trinity Test
The continuity from the success of the Trinity test drives towards the consequences to which Oppenheimer mentally suffers and regrets. The trouble is for the viewers spending the remaining last of the three hours in listening to the hearing and interrogation.
2. David Hill’s Findings
One of the Manhattan Project’s scientists David L. Hill played by Rami Malek had an unusual character growth. If I am not wrong, he appeared only thrice. The first two, he was mute and Oppenheimer stopped him from writing and then signing. But then in the last phase of the film, out of nowhere, he showed up in the Strauss’ hearing for the final plot twist and testified against him. So where goes the development of this character? How come he knew all this about Strauss’ dirty game against Oppenheimer? The whole point is missing about what leads him to there?
3. Love, Sex, and Gita
Oppenheimer had a mad affair with Jean Tatlock, that is true. The problem is everything that revolves around the character is either a bad execution or a shocking waste of time. The sex scene where she picks that specific line for Oppenheimer to read her, did she know Sanskrit to pick exactly that line, the loudest one?
There was an outrage in India over this scene because Bhagawad Gita was held by a woman in nudity. Kind of disrespect? In all honesty, the entire scene was unnecessary. If that actually happened, I have no disagreement over this. Because in the book, there is no such mention. But if this never happened, Nolan here wasn’t being artistic in his direction at all, it was plain nonsense. I wanted Oppenheimer to utter those words in Sanskrit as she demanded. I don’t know why didn’t he.
4. Ending
Christopher Nolan is the master of concluding the film. He has moved us with one of the best possible finishers. Oppenheimer doesn’t have a bad ending but not even a WOW ending. Yes, the suspense disclosed about what the two great physicists exchanged. But Nolan must have pushed for a frightening end. In his shoes, I would have pushed the timeline to 1965 on the sets of the NBC News where visibly old and deeply-hurt Oppenheimer regretfully quotes that line from Bhagavad Gita. And with that quote would follow the dramatizing of the atomic bombings on those two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
5. Where are the bombings?
And speaking of bombings. Where are the bombings? I understand the significance of the Manhattan Project but despite the fact that Oppenheimer was not directly involved to the atomic bombings but these are the one of the ugliest chapters of the human race that changed the world forever. This was on the cards and we all were hopeful that the director who crashed the plane in the name of realism in the previous film will show us atomic bombings instead of showing us the explosion of the Trinity test.
HISTORICAL ACCURACIES
I was lost when Oppenheimer poisoned an apple but this incident is mentioned in the book. He was near to get expelled before his parents intervened.
Oppenheimer’s theory on black holes’ existence is correct and the news of Poland’s invasion did break the same day.
Oppenheimer did give away his child to his friend but the circumstances were different.
Haakon Chevalier asking Oppenheimer to pass information to George Eltenton was true.
The storm did interfere before the Trinity test.
Oppenheimer’s meeting with President Truman went unpleasant as shown. And Truman, believe it or not, actually called him a crybaby scientist.
Indeed, Klaus Fuchs will always be remembered as the Manhattan Project spy who passed the details to the Soviets.
Mrs Oppenheimer has quite an accurate portrayal. She do was married three times before Oppenheimer. A highly educated but sadly a depressed and an alcoholic woman.
David Hill’s testimony against Strauss was truly the game-changer. He did testify that Strauss had organized the campaign against Oppenheimer as an act of petty vengeance.
CLOSING REMARKS
Christopher Nolan has already completed two trilogies in his legendary career. The Dark Knight Trilogy and the one that still has no official name but I can convincingly call it a time trilogy or in better terms the “Inversion Trilogy” that is Inception, Interstellar, and Tenet. And now looks like Nolan is eager to complete a World War Trilogy. We will see what film will join Dunkirk and Oppenheimer.
Oppenheimer emphasizes on the human wants and breaking the walls to exceed that want for which a human spends energy, time, effort, and sometimes life. A ground-breaking goal that looks to lift a dreamer and his/her legacy either becomes a milestone or a curse. Oppenheimer shows the madness of achieving a goal and turning stupid and blind over not realizing that the people who were shouldering around you were the ones who were always ready to break you in pieces since the first day they met you for a reason. The dirty game was played, a particular division of human race was wiped off, and you were just there assuming that you were fighting your own war against the evil.
Everyone who entered into the world war had his/her hands dirty and soul corrupted. We all have considered the winners and losers from all the battles and wars but the ugliest truth is that no one actually wins these fights. Both the opponents fight against each other and the civilians are the one who outnumber the soldiers in casualties unless the soldiers fight on the battlefield.
In short, the egoes of the global powers raise the flags against each other and dominate by killing. And Oppenheimer superbly shows how a scientist is used for their wants and thrown into the mud when the mission is over.
RATING 8.7/10
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Sami Naik | Film Critic 