Alex’s review published on Letterboxd:
!Ranked, Nolan Christopher: Time of Mastermind?
"You are the man who gave them the power to destroy themselves"
Oppenheimer is a ferocious 3 hour behemoth of a film. It is a film that advances with such intensity that it's nigh on impossible to not get swept up in the fascinating storytelling from Christopher Nolan. Ludwig Göransson's score is the best in any Nolan film yet (that's right, it's even better than Zimmer's score for Interstellar) and the sound design is some of the most impressive and fierce that I've ever heard. On top of that, Oppenheimer also boasts some of Nolan's best ever writing, which is a good thing considering how dialogue-heavy it is. Not a second is wasted, every word is meaningful and every word has impact. And unfortunately, given the situation in Ukraine, a lot of it is all the more devastating.
Another thing that Oppenheimer proudly showcases is its cast, which is easily one of the best ensembles of the past decade or so. Everyone gets a chance to show their talent and they show it off with complexity and emotion that really gets the heart pumping. Cillian Murphy has got to be a shoo-in for a best actor nomination at the Oscars, and I'd be very surprised if any other performance yet to be seen this year is better. Those haunted eyes that give every detail of his emotions, the way he truly embodies his role to the point that he could pass off as the father of the atomic bomb himself; Murphy is simply sublime. But who I was most surprised with, is Robert Downey Jr, who is a revelation here with his absorbing and powerful performance. He captures the audience's attention whenever he speaks and is the definition of a magnetic performance - another acting Oscar nomination for this film in the bag I think. Everyone else gives their best, but Murphy and Downey Jr are the brightest stars by far.
Oppenheimer has many of the staples that Christopher Nolan is known for, and yet it is also a departure from his past few works, as there is no action or sci-fi spectacle at all. But that's what makes this so impressive, as keeping up a pace so intense for all of 3 hours is no mean feat. Nolan's hand is still as unforgiving as you would expect though, and that just makes it even more enthralling. Fun fact: Nolan wrote this film from Oppenheimer's perspective in first person, and I find that fascinating. It really works though, because over the course of the marathon runtime, you really feel like you understand exactly what Oppenheimer is going through. From his real "moral qualms" to the brutal and undemocratic questioning of those moral qualms, you really are taken into "Oppy's" mind and it is like nothing else you will ever experience. Nolan demonstrates this perspective with skill and clarity, whether it be a close-up of Murphy's face or a shot of the background surrounding Murphy left completely out of focus - together with his now usual cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, Nolan crafts a visually stunning film. IMAX doesn't have to be only for spectacle, but it can also be an intimate form, which Nolan and van Hoytema absolutely nail.
Overall, it's hard to see this leaving my top spot for 2023.
5 stars == Basically perfect.
Barbie review next!
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