5...4...3...2...1
Hmmm... I heard someone say
"since the devil knows his time is running short, nothing that comes out of the entertainment industry is simply for entertainment purposes. It's either some sort of spell, ritual, or propaganda piece.”Um, not sure I buy into that 100%. Maybe so - however, this here was a phenomenal piece of filmmaking by writer and director Christopher Nolan, the story centered around the Father of the Atomic Bomb and leader of The Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, J. Robert Oppenheimer, played to perfection by Cillian Murphy.
Caught this on a double viewing. No, not Barbenheimer, the Oppenpossible (or Missionheimer if you prefer?) and can happily report there’s no whiplash at all. But before it started I thought we was in the wrong showing because it was filled with dude-bros, zoomers & families with kids (instead of older people). I kept thinking
"Are we in the wrong place? Is this the Barbie showing?" But they came to see Oppenheimer & seemed to liked it (judging by the hooting & cheering). I don’t blame the guy in front of us falling asleep post the nuke test cos the investigation was basically all the last part.
This 3-hour flick in an air conditioned theatre sounds pretty good to me during this heat wave! It's essentially a deconstruction of great man theory; a lot of the characters see themselves as Great Men who define history, only to be bought down by their own hubris. Chiefly Oppenheimer and Strauss, but even Einstein, Teller, and Truman. Each one thinks they're the center of the universe only to have it come crashing down - Einstein and Truman are loose fits; Einstein doesn't give off the same hubris as the others, but the outcome is the same, while Truman's treatment of Oppenheimer and his statement of
"they don't care about who built the bomb, only who dropped it" channels the same hubris but we don't see the same vilification Oppenheimer and Strauss experience.
***NO SPOILERS*** It's a Nolan flick so expect all your standard Nolanisms.
This movie isn't perfectly accurate in its story, but what it does paint painstakingly accurately is how this unraveling of events in his life have burnt a dark spot into his soul which eats at him as he foresees the world burn. Otherwise, for a bio pic its pretty spectacular. I don't think it's Nolan's best, but it definitely stands at the top. And like I said, the build-up to the explosion was one of the most tense moments I've felt in cinema for a while! The entire room was silent and you could hear a pin drop after it detonated. Cillian was outstanding. I think everyone did an amazing job. I can't think of one single actor/actress who didn't feel convincing in their role. I felt transported to Los Alamos. Absolutely recommend watching it on IMAX by all means.
Yea... I'm interrupting this string of superlatives to note I do wish though that some filmmaker would make a movie showing the same proper respects to a physicist named Lise Meitner. Her story is just as compelling if not more so and if it weren't for her work in science there probably wouldn't have been any glorious feat of science completed by Dr. Oppenheimer and other scientist in the building of the A-bomb.
"Now I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds." - Bhagavad Gita
The line, from the Hindu sacred text the Bhagavad Gita, has come to define Robert Oppenheimer, but its meaning is more complex than many realize.
I cannot imagine what thoughts plagued Oppenheimer's psyche after his creation. Being crowned "The Father of the Atomic Bomb" must have only worsened those thoughts. I commend him on his efforts after the Manhattan Project and may only God grant him forgiveness.
"You either die hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain." Glad Nolan is still true to this philosophy.
Sadly, Oppenheimer’s girlfriend suffered from depression and committed suicide in real life.
Anywaz, to bring this one home, it's deeply layered and complex, doesn't rely on a 300 million dollar budget, action, CGI. Instead its focus is on story, dialogue, character, visual flare. A fundamentally relevant and important film warning us about the danger of weapons like this and the chaotic and raw destructive power of the bomb.
The three hour runtime is definitely felt, unfortunately we live in the instant gratification era, so 3-hours may feel too long for a considerable amount of the audience... so this is not for everyone.
If you are the type of person who likes to read wikipedia pages. This movie is for you.
As we were leaving one guy said, “It's three one hour movies cut together like a TikTok reel. It sucked." LOL.
But I guess that’s the beauty of film. We all walk away with something different. :)
_ghostie gal