As the “father of the atomic bomb,” theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer is the subject of the film, which is touted as his biography. However, the term “biopic” feels inadequate to describe the ambition and scale of Christopher Nolan’s impressive, though occasionally cumbersome, latest. Oppenheimer is a complex historical drama that takes place across multiple timelines. It combines judicial drama, sexual liaisons, in-lab revelations, and personality cults in lectures. The ultimate monster movie, Oppenheimer, may be more important than all of this. The character of Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy, is a modern-day Frankenstein, enthralled by the limitless potential of science but unaware of the destructive potential of his invention until it was too late. Oppenheimer’s creation is ultimately not the monster in this tale; rather, it is the human race’s desire for annihilation. As the story of the movie progresses, Oppenheimer’s sunken, troubled visage gradually shows this realization. Murphy has never used his ice-chip eyes more effectively.
In actuality, Murphy’s physicality as a whole is one of the movie’s most effective tools. In contrast to the strong certainty of the military leaders he works with (Matt Damon’s Lt Gen Leslie Groves, for example, is bullish and solid, a clinched fist hunting for anything to punch), he seems impossibly slight, a theoretical idea of a man. Oppenheimer is pictured in one scene carrying a stack of books into a brand-new classroom, appearing to be struggling under the weight of his extensive knowledge. Other times, he is serene and cool as a glass, seemingly insulated from egos jostling and the confluence of ideas that will result in the final weapon.
A marker, or a clue as to which timeline we are currently occupying, is the version of Oppenheimer that is currently shown on screen. The development of the bomb, or the so-called Manhattan Project, is cut together with another hearing, this one in the Senate, to determine whether Oppenheimer’s former colleague Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr., excellent), should be appointed in a federal government role. These glimpses into his brilliant early academic career are punctuated by glimpses of a later humiliating security clearance hearing that went over every aspect of his life. It is a tangled web-like structure. Time doesn’t feel fully linear in Oppenheimer; there are some scenes, most notably a crucial run-in with Albert Einstein, that feel disconnected from the rest of the picture. Oppenheimer is no exception to the rule that Nolan’s movies typically take a couple of viewings to properly unpack, despite the fact that it lacks Tenet’s level of mystery.
Gen. Leslie Groves is played by Matt Damon, and Oppenheimer is portrayed by Cillian Murphy.
Other issues include the superficial handling of the female characters. Oppenheimer’s mistress Jean Tatlock, played by Florence Pugh, receives little attention. Furthermore, Emily Blunt, who plays Kitty Oppenheimer, the wife of J. Robert, spends the most of the first two hours mutinously gripping a martini on the edge of the frame. Later on, she does, however, claim a couple of great scenes: a scene in which she is being interrogated and a wordless gaze in which she expresses her hatred for a disloyal coworker in its entirety.
But overall, the movie is a brilliant accomplishment. Given Nolan’s propensity for using Imax 70mm film, the picture’s level of detail could cause you to drown. Scenes of frantic chalkboard scrawling, the standard movie symbol for scientific brilliance, abound. The abstract moments, however, are more captivating since they provide the impression that we are penetrating the center of the atom. The sets’ innovative tendency to tremble under pressure is equally creative. Oppenheimer’s world is genuinely shook by the shockwaves of the triggered reaction.
The employment of sound and music, however, is the most successful. This movie, like Jonathan Glazer’s upcoming The Zone of Interest, uses sound to inescapably portray the horrors of battle without ever showing them. Masterful yet erratic, Ludwig Göransson’s score is unquestionably among the best of the year. A crescendo of violently stamping feet also appears repeatedly in the soundtrack. It was taken from Oppenheimer’s career’s pinnacle, a time of triumph and glory. The disastrous potential of the physicist’s work, however, grows more and more apparent with each use, giving the object an increasing sense of threat.
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Written by: Anshika Patra
