Oppenheimer

 

Gillipedia Official Rating: The moral qualms of enjoying a movie with such a heavy subject

Score: 10/10

          Why Christopher Nolan is my favorite director is that he’s always pushing himself with each new film that he does. He tackled the superhero genre, played with our minds and time, went to outer space, did a war film, and then messed with time traveling. This film is let’s do a biopic, but do it the Nolan way. So that means out of order scenes and incomplete scenes that finish later, a slew of practical effects, a giant ensemble cast, and a booming score and sound design that occasionally drowns out the dialogue. I’m not here to say that you will love Oppenheimer. This is a 3-hour movie that tackles the incredibly difficult conundrum that was building a bomb during WW2 before the Nazis could—the idea of killing thousands if not millions in order to end the war and stop the potential deaths of even more. There’s a few reasons why you wouldn’t agree with my scoring, and I’ll address those. I’ll also say that this isn’t my favorite Nolan film. But just like what you may have previously seen in my last review and love letter to Tom Cruise is a similar love for what Christopher Nolan does, and I think he just created one of the best biopics of all time.

          The first 15 minutes are marvelous. It’s a quick way to get through the early history of our main character, real life physicist Robert Oppenheimer, and it sets the stage for all the future conflicts of the film. This includes the building of the atomic bomb, government hearings afterward that I wasn’t at all familiar with, and the internal struggles Oppenheimer had to grapple with for creating the most destructive weapon of all time. And it’s not just within the first 15 minutes, but within the first moments that I got my IMAX money’s worth with Oppenheimer’s vision of what capabilities they had for a bomb as well as the insane audio of explosions and surrounding outside noise that also pressured him during those decisive years.

          If you’re worried I’m giving too many details already, fair enough, but I promise to keep things vague from here and spoiler free (spoiler, there is an atomic bomb that makes a presence). As we explore how Oppenheimer became the project director for Trinity (the bomb diggity project), Nolan also sprinkles in other timelines including a closed-door hearing regarding… something. I’m not the biggest history buff, and although it’s explained brilliantly later in the film, if you’re not familiar with the real subject matter, I won’t expose it here. But there’s actual testimonies taken and used, and many characters bring in their opinions and continue to interact with Oppenheimer throughout the film—particularly with the Trinity Project. So yes, the lead up to Nolan creating an actual explosion is the big selling point of the film, and it is obviously glorious. But there’s a few other plotlines in here and an overwhelming amount of characters that all have their own purposes for the story. It’s not the most incredible storyline you’ll ever see with themes that transcend time or anything, but it is a truly engaging film the entire time—yes, all 3 hours of it.

          I sincerely believe Oppenheimer will not only make an appearance at the Oscars next year, but I think it will also be taking home multiple awards. What is too early to call as a win but should absolutely be a nomination is the star of this film, Cillian Murphy. Early on, I had always found it interesting that he auditioned for Batman, lost out to Christian Bale, but Nolan liked him so much that he gave him the Scarecrow role and told him to take off his glasses any chance he could with those dreamy blue eyes. And Murphy has been a staple of Nolan films since, even more than any other actor outside of Michael Caine. He did the whole Dark Knight trilogy, was in Inception as well as Dunkirk. And if people weren’t aware of him from any of those films, I’m sure there’s more than a few Tom Shelby fans for his starring work in the Peaky Blinders show. Yes, this Irish actor is often playing an American for Nolan films. And as much as I take films simply as they are, I love to see how the supporting character not only steps into the starring role for Nolan, but he absolutely shines. This is not an easy feat. This is a long film spanning decades of time with real people and morally grey subject matter. One thing that particularly stood out to me was all the scenes where Oppenheimer is interacting with someone else and just how much the editor chose to use Murphy’s reaction shots. If I’ve lost anyone, basically, if two people are talking, the editor has 3 choices: show the person speaking, the person listening, or a wide shot of the 2. So not only is Murphy in the bulk of all these scenes, he’s front and center and we’re constantly watching his sunken in face to find the minute reactions and gauge the thoughts of a complex, brilliant man. There’s too much time left in the year to declare him the winner, but I will protest if Murphy is not nominated for Best Actor.

          As I was saying before, this film has a mind-boggling ensemble. It felt like a Wes Anderson film where A-list actors readily sign up knowing full well they may not have more than 10 lines of dialogue. We have some Nolan returners like Matt Damon who does a fantastic job, the creepy guy from Dark Knight that hilariously played Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad, and a surprise cameo that I won’t reveal. And there’s too many recognizable actors to list here, but some notable ones off the top of my head include the always great Florence Pugh, an intricate performance from Emily Blunt, a great role from Benny Safdie (of the Safdie brothers who famously directed Uncut Gems), and a very large supporting role for Robert Downey, Jr. not playing Tony Stark.

          Let me reiterate one more time: this is a 3-hour film and is dialogue-heavy. However. Nolan uses many tricks in the book to never feel like a scene is in there unnecessarily or that it slows down anywhere. Whether it’s the IMAX camera subtly moving or if it’s actors crossing through the sets and interacting with objects, there’s always something dynamic happening that draws the eyes. To the point that yes, there were times where I lost focus momentarily and was trying to catch up on what the characters were talking about. And I did not leave with 100% clarity, but did you watch a Nolan film if you did? He has always had a knack for some punchey lines, but the story is always more important than the dialogue, and that’s still the case here. There’s also the aspect of color versus black and white. Nolan’s first film (which I haven’t seen) I believe was in black and white more due to the limited budget, and he sparingly used it for scene transitions in Memento. But this is easily the biggest scale he’s included black and white. If you’re not aware of why it’s in there, I think it’s one of the fun puzzles to try to solve, and I’d encourage you not to look into it before watching the film. The third aspect is the sound and score. True for any Nolan film, the score is fantastic. Nolan has also stated with films like Interstellar, he had an increased focus on sound design and how that enhanced the theater experience. Here, it’s actually incorporated into the themes and metaphors presented. There’s a scene probably about two-thirds in that I think is a masterpiece of a scene that includes great visuals, the perfect juxtaposition of Oppenheimer’s mindset, and how it all connects through sound. Another aspect that I think plays beautifully is the makeup. There are historical figures that people will easily recognize, and they’re incorporated seamlessly. But like I have already said, this film spans decades, and one of the best ways to keep the storylines straight is how they age Oppenheimer throughout, and I give large credit to makeup and hair for what they achieve here. Sound design is a shoe in for the win, cinematography undoubtedly is nominated, and I’d love to see Nolan finally recognized for directing (possibly even writing here), score, makeup, production design, and a win for editing. I’m not asking for too much, am I?

          For all the hoopla around Nolan creating practical effects and explosions, that’s not how this film lives and died. I avoided most press before watching the film, but there was a commercial for the film that cracked me up because it flashed the names of RDJ, Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt, and then it gave the last name credit for Cillian Murphy. Without a doubt in my mind, this movie doesn’t succeed without Murphy. He fully embodies this complex scientist who isn’t a role model or anything but undoubtedly impacted the world tremendously. Safdie’s character questions how Oppenheimer truly feels about their work, and it’s in this ambiguity of advancing science and trying to justify ending the war where the emotions of Oppenheimer live. There’s no dumb dialogue of Oppenheimer ever saying, “Frankly, my dear, building this bomb in fact makes me a little sad. No cap.” We get great visual and audio representations from Nolan, but oftentimes it’s Murphy briefly looking into the distance only to snap back into reality to make quick decisions because that’s what their deadline demands, and it’s all these little moments that add up over 3 hours that carries this film. Nolan and Murphy have long collaborated on some of my favorite movies of all time, and along the way each one has grown in their careers. They put all that experience together in crafting what I believe is a near-perfect biopic. It’s a long, daunting film that requires your attention, and a palette cleanser will be necessary afterward, but it’s a journey well worth taking. In IMAX if possible.