Review: Love and regret are at the core of Christopher Nolan’s films, no matter how complex and demanding they may be in structure and storytelling. True to his genre in spirit but out of the ordinary in execution and content, the acclaimed director creates a poignant piece on human disillusionment. How one man’s greatest discovery and bravery marked his greatest destruction. Oppenheimer may have been a genius, but he was not familiar with the ways of the world. He spoke his mind, trusted everyone and paid the price for it.
Talky and intense, the film opens like a psychological horror-investigative-courtroom thriller even as it replays known historical events. The IMAX cameras get dangerously close to the actors and perfectly expose every pore, every untold emotion and every fallen tear. Sound and silence, especially in that horrifying explosion scene, play an unsettling game of hide-and-seek. Ludwig Göransson’s music gives the film an unsettling time bomb effect. Nolan keeps building up your anxiety, taking you emotionally hostage and has no interest in slowing down. When he finally frees his flawed protagonist from the prison of his own guilt, you find yourself in tears.
The 3-hour-long film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J.J. Based on Robert Oppenheimer. It carefully follows the life story of the famous and controversial physicist in a non-linear manner. The narrative moves between the past and the present, addressing major events related to nuclear testing and its aftermath. These include the American Jew’s equation with himself, fellow scientists including Albert Einstein, the left-leaning political activism, the implication of being a Russian spy, and the revocation of his security clearance in an unfair government hearing.
A man who was very proud of his discoveries, he could never look up to her. Although the atomic bomb is only one part of the film, it extensively studies the mindset of its creator. Oppenheimer’s ambition and relentless love of physics filled him with a sense of impending doom and moral skepticism. Nolan cleverly pits Oppenheimer’s heart against his mind at the center of his film, exposing the estrangement between the two.
If you are an expert on World War II, you will get a better idea of the Germany-USA-Japan-Russia arms race and the socio-political situation.
One man’s desire to fight fascism and save lives resulted in the destruction of human lives, and no one could have played it better than Cillian Murphy. His soul-piercing blue eyes remarkably convey anguish and quiet anger. Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt are excellent. Matt Damon, Rami Malek, and Kenneth Branagh are given nice roles in extended cameos.
Oppenheimer shatters you because it is a gripping tale of a man wracked with guilt and inner turmoil. “A man who became death, the destroyer of the world.” You will not forget this film for a long time.