Watched July 20th and July 25th, 2023
Rarely do I watch a movie two times in theaters before reviewing it but for “Oppenheimer” I thought that a rewatch was necessary to further develop my thoughts and ideas about the movie. After careful consideration and thinking about it for a while, I have come to the conclusion that this is indeed my favorite Christopher Nolan film to date. This film can only be described as Nolan’s magnum opus (his most important work). He absolutely swings for the fences for this film and delivers a spectacle unlike any film I have seen this year. This movie is not only an impressive achievement for Christopher Nolan but also for cinema as a whole.
This film is a three hour long biopic that follows Robert J. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) as he progresses in his career, from a student to becoming the father of the atomic bomb. Throughout this film we are constantly reminded about how the world will eventually be changed forever due to Oppenheimer’s project. Not only do we see how Oppenheimer built and designed the atomic bomb, but also his social life and his personal struggles with building a weapon that could easily destroy humanity. This story is a tough watch and you are constantly reminded of the sheer force and power that a bomb such as this one brings. This film also reminds us that in today’s political climate we really are closer than ever to destroying the world as we know it. This character study is powerful and unlike anything I have seen so far by Christopher Nolan. We dive-deep into Oppenheimer’s social life, political life, science life and more to try and understand the weight of Oppenheimer’s life as he creates a bomb that can destroy cities, countries and worlds.
The performances in the movie are some of the better performances I have seen this year. For starters, Cillian Murphy is perfectly cast in the role as Oppenheimer and he brings the sheer weight and power needed for this role. Oppenheimer, as I said before, is very morally-conflicted in what he is doing with the Manhattan Project and through his eyes and facial expressions Murphy conveys these emotions perfectly. We, as the audience, get the opportunity to get into the mind of this brilliant scientist. This is definitely one of my favorite performances of this year and easily Cillian Murphy’s best performance to date as well. There is an image of Oppenheimer at the end of this movie that is so haunting that it is seared into my brain. Robert Downey Jr. who plays Lewis Strauss is definitely one of the standouts for me in this movie. He actually to my surprise has a pretty big part to play in this story. I won’t go into detail but he delivers some very important lines of dialogue, and delivers them with so much emotion and conviction. Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh are also pretty good in this movie as well. Nolan has always struggled to write female characters in his movies and I definitely think that it is still a problem in this movie especially for Florence Pugh’s character. But Emily Blunt’s character, especially towards the end of the movie, really brings it, and delivers a performance that I still have not forgotten about. This ensemble cast is really what makes this movie have so much impact on the audience in my opinion.
Not only are the performances great but this film is a technical masterpiece. I have seen the film twice now, first in 70mm IMAX and the second time just in IMAX. Both times, I was blown away by the visuals of this movie. Especially in 70mm, you get a larger picture and a crystal clear image that helps add to the story and helps you become more immersed. The cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema is one of the best of the year and you can definitely tell this film was shot for IMAX. The Trinity Test scene in particular is easily one of my favorite scenes of the year so far. The editing and sound are also some other highlights of this movie. I have heard some people say that this film is not necessary to see in IMAX and to that I would strongly disagree. I get that this film is dialogue driven but I believe that you do not get to capture the technical marvel of this film without watching it in IMAX. Lastly I would like to give a shoutout to Ludwig Göransson’s score (which I am actually listening to while writing this review). This score is a masterpiece and I think you could agree with that even if you did not like the movie.
I would like to talk about the awards that Oppenheimer could get nominated for and possibly win at the Oscars. I do believe that it is a frontrunner for most technical categories, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Score and more. It’s just so well crafted and I believe it deserves to be recognized. I could also see it getting into Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor (Cillian Murphy) and Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.). All of these nominations would be great for this movie and a win, even if it is one, would be great for Nolan and the entire team. This is Nolan’s awards movie and I believe it will play well with awards voters later on in the year.
Like I said before this is easily my favorite Christopher Nolan film to date. This film combines everything that Nolan does well on the technical side, has a really compelling, emotional story and also has some great performances. This film is Nolan’s magnum opus in so many ways and delivers a movie that really makes you think long after the credits roll. I still have images that are so haunting that they are seared into my brain. This has really been a great weekend for cinema with both Barbie and Oppenheimer. Both films are very different, but have very powerful messages and are made by well established filmmakers. It’s really great for the whole industry!
Review 4.5/5 Stars
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