Directed by:
Christopher NolanScreenplay:
Christopher NolanCinematography:
Hoyte van HoytemaComposer:
Ludwig GöranssonCast:
Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Conti, Benny Safdie (more)VOD (4)
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Experience the breathtaking global phenomenon that has captivated audiences around the world. Written for the screen and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer thrusts audiences into the mind of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), whose landmark work on the Manhattan Project created the first atomic bomb. (Universal Pictures UK)
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Reviews (19)
Christopher Nolan has made an excellent 3-hour period drama about the making of the atomic bomb with a perfect cast, breathtaking visuals, great dialogue and decently dosed tension, but it's also a very exhausting and challenging film, and I'm not sure I want to go through it again – we all know Nolan makes films that need to be seen multiple times to fully understand them and pick up all the details, but here I just don't know if it will be too tedious a second time around, or if it won't be at the cinema again. I like the fact that Nolan wrote the script himself and got the best of the best for the rest: cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoyte, whose cinematography is simply unique, the music this time is not by Hans Zimmer but by the skillful Ludwig Göransson, who is also a safe bet; and he was lucky in the choice of actors. Cillian Murphy gives probably the performance of his life, which should be awarded an Oscar. It was also nice to see Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr. (the rest of the famous actors really had minimal space and are rather cameos). The first hour is a little quieter and a little too much scientific for my taste, which I'm not that interested in, but it's simply part of the fabric, just not something I'm downright fond of. With the arrival of Damon and the preparation of the nuke – the explosion is one of the best sequences of the film (unexpectedly) – the tension was palpable, the atmosphere thickened and the whole thing is really very nicely executed. I enjoyed the final “trial”, it was pretty heated, although I expected to be even more blown away, as I love these verbal shootouts, but something was missing. All in all, I am satisfied, it couldn't have been done better, audiovisually it is a masterpiece of the genre, it's just not really my genre and unless I have the need to visit the cinema again immediately, I can't give it a full score. 8/10.
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The long wait for another Nolan film was broken by the biographical story of Robert Oppenheimer, the man behind the atomic bomb. Yes, the subject matter is undeniably strong, but 180 minutes? Not so much. In typical Nolan fashion, he doesn't make it easy for the viewer, intertwining three timelines right from the start. If you're not familiar with the basics of Oppenheimer's life, good luck keeping up. The film is heavy on dialogue – a lot of talking, and not the gripping kind. This is especially apparent whenever Albert Einstein appears on screen; those moments steal the show and offer the best dialogue the film has to offer. It's a movie about a monumental scientific advancement, one that's essential for human progress but also one we might not deserve. It also highlights American arrogance and hints at what the Russians did afterwards – but let's not even go there.
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A focused Nolan, a perfect Cillian Murphy and a roaring Ludwig Göransson in a history lesson I've always wanted to see. The suffocating atmosphere, disturbed only by the celebration of the Trinity explosion, sticks to the palate, and at times you feel sick of what could have been. If Hitler hadn't shot himself, they would have dropped the nukes in Europe. Oppenheimer's life of communism, his wives, his nightmares, his friends and his enemies are all engulfing, and for three hours they don't let go, whether it's black and white conversations or the simulation of a nuclear explosion. The horrific ending with Einstein still resonates with me. “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”
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Curriculum vitae not inside out, but into pieces. Countless micro clashes and seemingly fleeting relationships wrapped in the construction of one city, one attempt, and two checks. All in the avalanche of phenomenal acting performances led by Downey, Florence Pugh, and of course the torn shadowy antihero. And at the heart of it all, a ticking and waiting emotional payload that knows that selfish people rarely know that they are selfish. In the gradual conclusion, despite the air-conditioned cinema, I felt the weight of the moment on me, drops of sweat from nervousness and from the absolute immersion in key scenes.
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The creator of this device will be weighed down by his conscience, whether he is the destroyer of worlds or their savior. Let’s compare the escalating drama of the Trinity test culminating in deafening silence with the famous quote read in Sanskrit during a non-nuclear fusion with Florence Pugh, or naked bodies in chairs and imagination, and let’s consider what the author is truly good at and where the artistic arrangement feels of dubious value. In the respectful sense, it’s an opulent commissionary martyrdom, but it offers fewer truly exceptional moments than there are appearances of the god born in Ulm on a pulley. Nolan has the skills to craft a technically perfect bomb, but perhaps he should entrust the design to someone else.
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