Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ mines a dark fear. Would the first atomic bomb destroy the Earth? The film may seem like a textbook on theoretical physics. With its character dialogue and swirling practical effects. Though it’s actually Nolan’s most emotionally mature and serious movie yet. Across the three-hour running time, the director now focuses on one man’s anguished mind.
The slender biopic ratchets up the tension well. It balances the fervor of scientific discovery with the dread of nuclear doom. Nolan shifts between drab conference rooms and scribbled-on whiteboards. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer gathers a team of scientists that rivals any superhero ensemble.
Sweeping desert landscapes are where Los Alamos’ white-sand mesas resemble movie sets. The film’s separate timelines lend a noirish air to the headlong pursuit of new science and its world-altering implications.
With the onset of WWII, the race to beat the Nazis to an atomic bomb escalates. Matt Damon tasks Oppenheimer with leading the effort to build a weapon at Los Alamos. Nolan evokes a sense of urgency with close-quarters meetings in a drab military building. Then, as the world is on the brink of destruction, Groves notices that Oppenheimer may be a communist sympathizer.
Throughout it all, Nolan keeps up the pacing with a relentless flow of dialogue and visuals. A primer through character dialogue explains basic quantum mechanics. The director avoids going too deep into complex mathematics. He gave viewers the knowledge they need to feel engaged and terrified by what’s at stake without making them feel dumb. Cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema adds to the excitement with shots that seep into the cosmos. but Nolan’s most dazzling images are inside Oppenheimer’s head.
Cillian Murphy delivers an expansive masterclass of a performance as the titular character. He’s a coil of contradictions who is ruthless in his determination to perfect the bomb. Though he’s self-destructive in his post-Hiroshima realization that it will never be enough. He reads the tumultuous weather of the era through the subtleties of his endless stare. Communicating devastation, anxiety, and fear with a single glance.
The film also features Emily Blunt as his wife, Florence Pugh as his mistress. The supporting cast includes Kenneth Branagh, Topher Grace, James D’Arcy, and Gary Oldman. It’s a rare moment when audiences can be so involved with a movie about something profound. ‘Oppenheimer’ is Nolan’s most complex and ambitious film to date.
It’s a tour de force of acting and production that will have its audience in awe and dread. It’s a film that can’t go overlooked.
