Oppenheimer: Complex Figure, Brilliant Film

Release Date：Jul/21/2023

Genre：Biography/Drama/History

Director：Christopher Nolan

Cast：Cillian Murphy、Emily Blunt、Matt Damon、Robert Downey Jr.、Florence Pugh

Viola's Rating：9.0

Oscar-nominated director Christopher Nolan has a bunch of followers if not believers, and his feature films have been seriously analyzed, debated and embraced by critics, film academics and ordinary flick aficionados. The world had been looking forward to Nolan’s latest motion picture, Oppenheimer, for a while, and it’s finally here, being released on Jul 21, 2023.

Based on the 2005 biography, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, written by American author and columnist Kai Bird and American historian Martin J. Sherwin, this biographical, historical drama chronicles the story of American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) and his role as the leader of the Manhattan Project that produced the first nuclear weapons and in the development of the atomic bomb in general.

Oppenheimer is Nolan’s second movie with WWII as the background. In order to include as many details of the history as possible, there’s a large number of faces and names appearing on the big screen. Therefore, some critics suggested that it would be better if the audience looks up the history of Oppenheimer before going to the theater. However, only if you have difficulties recognizing faces or remembering names, there shouldn’t be a problem, especially because most characters showed up in history textbooks already. Moviegoers only need to refresh their memories of history classes in junior and senior high school.

Although being dubbed the “father of the atomic bomb,” Oppenheimer has been considered a controversial figure due to his moral and political struggles, and since he bore heavy moral responsibilities of mass destruction, nuclear age and weapons, his accumulated guilt is displayed in Oppenheimer.

Even though Oppenheimer never stopped his left-wing associations, he never really joined the communist party. However, back in WWII, it was a highly sensitive topic to even touch upon. Cillian Murphy is super good at playing characters that are both good and evil, so casting Murphy is one of the most amazing decisions Nolan made making Oppenheimer. Even the sex scenes in the picture were meant to represent that Oppenheimer’s love was beyond politics.

What’s interesting is that the story of Oppenheimer isn’t told chronologically but surrounds his 1954 security clearance hearing. It’s a hearing, but everything about it is like a trial. Along with what’s been said during the hearing, the audience gets to see what actually happened back then. With black & white and color images, it’s easier to understand the nonlinear timeline.

Oppenheimer is no doubt one of the best feature films of all time, and maybe, this time, Nolan’s finally going to win his first Academy Award for Best Directing.

Picture Credit:IMDb