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| Cillian Murphy in "Oppenheimer" Photo Credit: Imdb.com |
As we’ve seen over the years with writer-director Christopher Nolan, he’s one to do things the hard way. Being rightfully obsessive about his filmmaking craft, such as shooting on film and emphasizing practical effects over CGI whenever possible, you can view him as a strict, determined genius who knows what he wants and goes for it, no matter how challenging the process may be.
This background of his is what makes him the perfect fit for his latest film, the biographical epic “Oppenheimer.” Focusing on the intense commitment that the title character has with bringing his scientific vision to the forefront, Nolan does the same with bringing Oppenheimer’s story to the big screen, in what amounts to one of the director’s biggest achievements yet.
The story follows J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), a theoretical physical who spearheads the development of atomic weapons during World War II.
Murphy has appeared in several of Nolan’s films in supporting roles, but now, he’s given the chance to be front and center in the biggest role of his career, thus far. In the part, Murphy displays his character’s deep intellect in regards to the possibilities of his scientific field. He first exhibits someone who starts out as seeming to be really unsure of himself, only to then realize of what his mind is capable. He presents a mind that’s racing to make his ideas come forward; however, as the film goes on and he comes closer to seeing his scientific possibilities show their potential, we see an individual who then must come to terms with the destructive ripples that’s he’s placed at that point in history. As Oppenheimer grapples with the morals of his work later in the story, Murphy really goes deep into the psychological complications that his character faces, using his gaunt features whose expressions leave lasting impressions on the viewer. While that’s true in the Los Alamos storyline, it comes even more into focus in the 1954 and 1959 plot threads. In this two segments, especially in 1954, Murphy shows a tense Oppenheimer as he’s questioned by those around him, trying to justify his actions but also establish regulations of such destructive weapons. There’s a rich complexity to Oppenheimer as the effects of his invention become more and more apparent to him, and Murphy displays that inner turmoil right up to the shattering closing minutes.
While the film is loaded with terrific supporting performances, the standout is Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a senior member of the United States Atomic Energy Commission. After Downey Jr. spent many years in the Marvel Studios movies, this is a role that reminds us that he’s a legitimate actor. He shows his character’s obsessiveness with destroying Oppenheimer’s credibility and accusing him as a communist. He brings across Strauss’ vindictiveness, which becomes more evident as the film goes on, and the strength of this performance speaks to what kind of work Downey will be further capable of now that’s free of the Iron Man shackles.
As for the rest of the supporting cast, there are many others who get to make an impression in Nolan’s historical tapestry. There’s Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s wife, Katherine; Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves, the director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory; Florence Pugh as psychiatrist Jean Tatlock; Josh Hartnett at nuclear physicist Ernest Lawrence; Benny Safdie as theoretical physicist Edward Teller; and David Krumholtz as physicist Isidor Isaac Rabi. Trust me, this is just naming a few. The gift of the cast is, even if someone’s only given five minutes of screen time, each cast member makes the absolute most out of their appearance.
The screenplay by Nolan, which is based on Kai Bard and Martin K. Sherwin’s 2005 biography, “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer,” manages three storylines, one involving the making of the bomb in Los Alamos, another involving Oppenheimer’s security hearing in 1954, and Strauss’ confirmation hearing in 1959. All three storylines are equally compelling, and with this film being three hours (Nolan’s longest to date), each story’s given enough time for us to view each of these chapters of Oppenheimer’s life. The Los Alamos storyline provides an in-depth look into what led to the idea of creating the bomb and the work that went into building and securing it. We’re given a view into the massive scale of this event, and with many character’s sharing the screen, we see a meeting of minds that show how many people and factors were involved in having the Manhattan Project got through. With the story involving Oppenheimer’s hearing, we shift into something that gives a stricter focus on Oppenheimer himself as he’s in a boardroom answering questions, offering us an even further insight into his psyche as he recounts his actions. For the story concerning Strauss’ confirmation hearing, we’re provided with a look into the tension between him and Oppenheimer, a plot thread that turns a friendship into a rivalry as the animosity boils over and impacts both of their lives. In all three storylines, Nolan shapes some his finest dialogue to date, maintaining an abundance of tension as the plot develops and never loses its pace.
Nolan re-teams with cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, who worked with the director on his last three movies, “Interstellar,” “Dunkirk,” and “Tenet.” While those films dealt with big set pieces involving space exploration, war, and time travel respectively, van Hoytema manages to bring that epic scope to a film that garners much of its tension purely from the dialogue. He offers just as much grand imagery as he does with his other Nolan films, displaying how a sense of scale can be brought to a movie whose bulk of runtime takes place in labs, classrooms, and committee hearings. Aside from this, van Hoytema gives us some of the most chilling imagery that’s ever been seen in a Nolan movie, leaning into the uncertainty and horror that were felt both in discovering unknown territories of atomic weapons and the implications afterwards.
Just as we saw with editor Dody Dorn’s work in Nolan’s “Memento” for a backwards timeline and a forwards timeline, and with Lee Smith for different dream levels in “Inception” and juggling three storylines on land, air, and sea in “Dunkirk,” this is Nolan’s latest story that weaves between different settings. Jennifer Lame, who edited Nolan’s “Tenet,” does superb work in transporting us back and forth between the film’s three storylines and makes sure that the flow and tension are never lost during the transitions between the three timelines. One of her finest moments in “Oppenheimer” is much later in the film when a pivotal moment happens in the 1954 storyline and 1959 storyline. The way in which these two scenes build as we quickly shift from one to another and back shows that there’s still as much apprehension to be had in the third hour as the previous two, and what makes this editing job even more potent is the music from Nolan’s “Tenet” composer, Ludwig Göransson, who provides a gorgeous, heart-thumping score that highlights the strain between Oppenheimer and his enemies.
As Nolan explores a different, complex concept with each movie, he intends to give audiences the fullest experience possible. Even at three-hours, “Oppenheimer” never lags, making you feel the race-against-the-clock nature of the world-altering experiment, as well as the emotional devastation felt by the titular character as he tries to come to terms with the warfare possibilities that he has let loose on warring nations. Nolan has delivered on a huge scale before, but this is something different, a behemoth of a movie that shows the potential for destruction that humans hold, a potential that we see Oppenheimer embrace, then question, and then regret. Without exaggeration, you’ll feel every ounce of this film’s power.
Grade: A
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