Here it is, the film of the year. It's been no secret I have immense respect for Christopher Nolan as one of the primary gateway filmmakers for the cinematically curious to venture deeper into the medium, even if I find certain titles of his to be rather dire (Dark Knight trilogy, Dunkirk, and to a lesser extent Tenet). But as a whole he's crafted epics of such ridiculous proportions that I can't not adore him for it, smoothly delving with remarkable finesse into the most mind bending concepts and time distorting fantasies - he's so suave at it, that when he succeeds it's impossible for me not to instantly have the film enter into my favourites. Oppenheimer is one such film.

Where to even begin to even come close to encapsulating the experience of watching Oppenheimer's life unfold, because Nolan certainly doesn't know either, jumping back and forth Oppenheimer's timeline with such startling frequency. But it's a genius piece of nonlinear storytelling, as each act reveals the nonsequential pieces of his life with renewed context for what picture they're all gradually forming. The editing leaves no space to breath, an unending barrage of intense drama made vibrant by practically all the greatest acting talents in Hollywood* coalescing into this singular point of infinitesimal importance, directed with such refined mastery that I could barely believe I had been left to sit transfixed in the dark for over three hours. It truly just left me awestruck from start to finish.

And the fact that all of it was accomplished without the lick of computer effects. People praising Tom Cruise as one of the last bastions of 'real filmmaking' is woeful to me given the actual mediocrity of his screenplays (even if the stunts and action are fun) and the fact that he still relies on computers.** Meanwhile, Nolan is out here genuinely achieving the impossible in the real world, and the difference is night and day. The suspenseful build up to the arming of the bomb, followed by the sheer paralysis felt as it explodes and wipes out all light and sound bar the terrifying beauty of that explosion, will go down as the pinnacle of 'real filmic' potential.

*At long last, it's Cillian Murphy's chance to be rewarded for the fantastic work he's been doing over the years. To have been stuck in supporting actor hell for so long, it makes me so happy to see him at the top of film discourse now. His performance conveys so vividly the charisma, pride and genius battling with the soul crushing devastation of what he's unleashed onto the world, with a particular shot at the end being utterly heartbreaking.

**This more in reference to the latest Mission Impossible, which is fine at best. Mind you, as much as I admittedly loved Top Gun Maverick, from a writing and artistic perspective that does leave much to be desired.*** You can say they're different genres so abide by different criteria, but I do have to assert that what Nolan has made here is a far more compelling spectacle of what man is capable of when all he's given is a camera.

*** At the same time, a lack of character depth has often been levied against Nolan. I don't think he ever really had a problem with this, as the personal drama in The Prestige, Inception and Interstellar leaves me emotionally overwhelmed every time. But he certainly forgot about it with his previous two films, so it's great he's gone back to his old ways of writing superbly complex characters with a high degree of emotional stakes.