Filmmaker Christopher Nolan puts his signature stamp on Oppenheimer and tells this biographical tale as only he could. The results are uneven but largely spectacular. It’s a riveting, three-hour profile of the man history has labeled as the father of the atomic bomb. Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy portrays J. Robert Oppenheimer with a quiet, charismatic intensity that holds my attention from start to finish.
The story is presented in nonlinear segments, stemming from a 1954 security hearing that takes place at the height of the McCarthy Era. Oppenheimer’s ties to the Communist Party are scrutinized during a lengthy investigation conducted by select members of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, including Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr. in an Oscar-winning performance). The scenes filmed in color are from Oppenheimer’s perspective while the scenes in black-and-white are from Strauss’s point of view. My biggest issue with this concept is that it wasn’t apparent at all. I struggled during my initial viewing to understand the chronology and why certain scenes were in color or not. Typically, filmmakers use black-and-white to convey flashbacks or dreams, but this is not the case here. Nolan uses it to delineate which character is providing the narrative regardless of the timeline. It’s a way of indicating symbolically how they perceive the world around them. Strauss sees things in terms of black or white, in other words. While it’s ultimately effective, this stylistic storytelling is also the film’s biggest flaw. Once you know what’s going on, either by reading up on it in advance or figuring it out during the course of the movie, you’ll likely be less disoriented by the convoluted order of events and enjoy the film even more. This is why subsequent viewings have left a far greater impression on me.
There’s a lot of plot here and a lot of details. A lot of characters come and go, too. Nolan has decided to cast many of them with recognizable actors so they would resonate with audiences who could draw a quick connection to them in a brief amount of time. All told, seven Oscar-winners grace the screen, including Murphy and Downey Jr., along with Kenneth Branagh, Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Casey Affleck, and Gary Oldman. Nominees Emily Blunt, Tom Conti, and Florence Pugh are also on hand. Each one has an opportunity to shine, which adds to the thrill of the story.
The movie is based on a biographical book by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin called American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Nolan’s screen adaptation opens with the following abridged quote from it: “Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. For this, he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity.”
Oppenheimer is indeed a tale of caution, fashioned in bold, broad strokes. Despite the substantial running time, it’s also well paced with larger-than-life themes that raise moral issues surrounding man’s ability, through theoretical physics and practical science, to alter nature in profound ways. It celebrates the human mind yet depicts both the rise and fall of anyone who dares to push beyond known boundaries. At a key moment in the plot, Danish physicist Niels Bohr (Kenneth Branagh) offers Oppenheimer a word of warning, when he says, “We have to make the politicians understand this isn’t a new weapon … it’s a new world.” He then adds, “You are an American Prometheus, the man who gave them the power to destroy themselves.”
The antagonist of the story—the Judas, if you will—is Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.). He supports and defends Oppenheimer’s work at first but eventually becomes the driving force behind the hearings over Oppenheimer’s top-level security clearance. Through Strauss’s personal testimony and guidance, the proceedings escalate into an aggressive inquisition about Oppenheimer’s loyalty to America.
The underlying competitiveness and jealousy Strauss has for Oppenheimer isn’t about his fame, it’s about his importance. Strauss’s motivation is introduced in a simple scene early on. Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) brushes past Strauss without acknowledging him while they are outside on the grounds at Princeton. This “snub” happens immediately following a private conversation between Einstein and Oppenheimer. Strauss takes the unprovoked dismissal personally and won’t let it go, believing Oppenheimer must have said something negative about him to Einstein prior to the shunning. It’s the only explanation he will accept.
Ultimately, Lewis Strauss himself is taken down during his own Senate confirmation hearing for Secretary of Commerce in 1959. Nuclear physicist David L. Hill (Rami Malek) testifies against him, sharing his personal knowledge of Strauss’s ulterior motive in engineering Oppenheimer’s downfall. A senate aide (Alden Ehrenreich) questions Strauss about the reason for the cold reception he received that day at Princeton when Einstein failed to acknowledge him after speaking with Oppenheimer.
“Is it possible they talked about something more important?” asks the aide. The discussion between Oppenheimer and Einstein is then revealed, and it was actually about the ability or inability to understand the impact of what each of them had started. Their somber chat leaves Einstein in a withdrawn, reflective mood as he walks back toward the building, oblivious to Strauss’s presence on the grounds with them.
Oppenheimer is a movie that stunned audiences, the Hollywood community, and filmmakers around the globe. It now ranks as the highest grossing biographical picture in history. For a largely cerebral film that challenges viewers with many thought-provoking questions about our god-like abilities, our ongoing desire to both deify and ultimately crucify anyone who dares to raise the bar of possibilities to unimaginable heights, and our moral responsibility to the world and obligation to future generations for introducing something so awesome and terrifying as to inspire, overwhelm, and devastate, it’s a monumental achievement—a film certain to spawn frank conversations for decades to come.
Oppenheimer
Director | Christopher Nolan |
Primary Cast | Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Jason Clarke, Tony Goldwyn, Kenneth Branagh, Harry Groener, Gregory Jbara, Tom Conti, Josh Hartnett, Florence Pugh, Matthew Modine, Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Casey Affleck, Gary Oldman |
Familiar Faces | Matt Damon from The Departed |
Firsts | None to speak of |
Total Wins | 7 (Picture, Director, Actor: Cillian Murphy, Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Cinematography, Editing, Score) |
Total Nominations | 13 (Picture, Director, Actor: Cillian Murphy, Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr., Supporting Actress: Emily Blunt, Screenplay: Adapted, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Editing, Sound, Score) |
Viewing Format | 4K Ultra HD |