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| Cillian Murphy as the titular haunted nuclear physicist before his horrific invention on this fiery poster for Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer |
J. Robert Oppenheimer studied nuclear physics in Europe before planting the new scientific discipline in America. With WWII underway and the nuclear race on to create the mightiest bomb the world had ever seen, the US government instructed him to invent and make them said weapon first.
Oppenheimer is written, co-produced and directed by English master filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Following (1998)), whose 12th feature it is. It is based on the real life Oppenheimer and the biography American Prometheus (2005) by Kai Bird (The Outlier (2021)) and Martin J. Sherwin (Gambling with Armageddon (2020)).
The film tells the awe-inspiring tale of the creation of the atomic bombs that ravaged Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, effectively ending the last open tangent of the war, forcing the Japanese to surrender. It is focused on the scientific race, the many strong and opinionated minds involved; in the personal costs for Oppenheimer and his family for the 'greater cause', the mammoth undertaking and the haunting and world-changing result of all their efforts. A large portion of the film is also dedicated to understanding the detrimental aftermath of the invention and specifically the way in which the overwhelmingly leftist (Socialist and Communist) scientists became chains around Oppenheimer's feet in the following Cold War era.
Cillian Murphy (The Party (2017)) does a bang-up job as Oppenheimer, appearing emaciated and troubled, apparently lost in the role. Robert Downey Jr. (Wonder Boys (2000)) gives arguably the best performance of his career SPOILER as the chameleon-like admiral Lewis Strauss, a formidable portrayal of a paradoxical, vindictive man. The cast is a very long chain of notable talents, as most every actor in the world today dreams of working with Nolan. Especially worth highlighting are Benny Safdie (Good Time (2017)), Josh Hartnett (Inherit the Viper (2019)) and Tom Conti (StreetDance 2 (2012)) in the very small but pivotal role as Albert Einstein. Excellence is all around, and the film is also a thrilling work from a production standpoint, and the 70 mm IMAX color and B/W (the latter is a first) photography (by Hoyte Van Hoytema (Spectre (2015))) is uniquely cinematic. The film is gorgeous and piercing.
The story is told in appropriate epic length with only appropriate flourishes, and the perspectives of the bomb in 1945 as well as today reverberate clearly for all who see Oppenheimer. It is a frightful (but great) historical and biographical film.
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Following (1998) - Nolan's ineffectual debut
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 100 mil. $
Box office: 400.3 mil. $ and counting
= Too early to say (but already a big hit)
[Oppenheimer premiered 11 July (Paris) and runs 180 minutes. Nolan shopped his Oppenheimer script around to the big Hollywood studios due to his split from Warner Bros. after his anger at their streaming strategy for films during the China Virus pandemic, hurting the release of his Tenet (2020). Universal Pictures gave him an extraordinary deal that he took: A 100 mil. $ budget, another 100 mil. $ for the marketing of the finished film, a 90-120 day exclusive theatrical release 'window', a three week space before and after the film with no films released from the company, and a 20 % first-dollar gross payment. The film's 3 biggest name stars Matt Damon (All the Pretty Horses (2000)), Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt (Jungle Cruise (2021)) all accepted 4 mil. $ salaries and undisclosed back-end percentage deals. Shooting took place from September 2022 - February 2023 in Zurich, Switzerland, New Mexico, California, including in Los Angeles, and in New Jersey. The film's release alongside new offering Barbie inspired a viral social media meme, 'Barbenheimer', which increased interest for both films: Oppenheimer opened #2, behind Barbie, to a 82.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it still ranks #2 in its 2nd weekend and has grossed 174 mil. $ at time of publishing. The film has yet to open in 5 markets in August, including South Korea, Italy and China. IMDb's users have rated the film in at #28 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between Life Is Beautiful (1997) and The Green Mile (1999). Nolan does not have his next film announced yet. Murphy returns in Small Things Like These. Oppenheimer is certified fresh at 94 % with a 8.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Oppenheimer?
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