Thomas’s review published on Letterboxd:
Wow, what an artistically stunning and emotionally draining downer of a movie. That such a dialogue-heavy, cerebral, depressing, and anxiety-inducing film, which to large parts consists of long, complicated legal hearings and meetings, scientists writing equations on blackboards, and close-ups of faces, has become an event summer blockbuster is one of the funniest movie-related things of the year and can only be attributed to Christopher Nolan´s name and the utterly unique Barbenheimer marketing phenomenon.
“Oppenheimer” combines several genres, including biopic, science film, war movie, courtroom drama, political thriller, and tragedy. It is an incredibly dense, mature, and ambitious film that requires your full attention as it ponders the ambiguity and complexity of this famous or infamous man and the moral, philosophical, and political implications of the terrifying weapon he is associated with. Doing that, the film explores themes such as the responsibility and limits of science, the responsibility and limits of politics, the relationship between the state and its citizens, American exceptionalism, living with guilt, and the flawed aspects of the human condition.
The story of Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project has been told before, most famously in the 2005 biography “American Prometheus”, which serves as the basis for this film. Nolan justifies his movie adaptation by fully utilizing the techniques unique to the cinematic medium to tell this story in a way it hasn´t before. “Oppenheimer” features breathtaking, powerful images, deeply affecting performances, and atmospheric sound, but its most important and impactful storytelling device is the editing. The film jumps between timelines, it experiments with form and story structure, it cuts off storylines and then returns to them later. In earlier Nolan films, him experimenting with the form sometimes came across as him simply setting a challenge for himself or showing off without much deeper thought behind it. In “Oppenheimer”, everything serves a purpose. The editing not only creates tension and an engrossing, unsettling, foreboding mood that kept me on the edge of my seat for three hours despite the lack of action and all the complicated legal and science talk, it also makes thematic connections, shows parallels and contrasts, and puts puzzle pieces together, all for the purpose to methodologically unravel this enigma of a man bit by bit. It truly is a one-of-a-kind character study. At the end, we still don´t fully know Oppenheimer as some contradictions remain, but we got a glimpse at the demons he had to wrestle with, and this glimpse alone will haunt me for a long time. The final scene is probably the most harrowing ending to a movie I will see this year and the bookending of the Oppenheimer/Einstein talk is pure brilliance.
(Quick sidenote: No matter how many legendary historical figures there are in the film, seeing Einstein always hits different. Like I have to consciously remind myself that he was a real person and not some mythological Merlin of science.)
Cillian Murphy always delivers but I think it´s safe to say that this is the biggest role of his career. I´m sure he knows this, too, that´s why he put his entire being into this performance. As stunning as some of the wide shots or images of the bomb are, the probably most interesting and evocative sight of the film is Cillian Murphy´s face. The next Oscars are still far away but there is no doubt that Murphy will be part of the conversation. The same is true for Robert Downey Jr., who delivers the strongest supporting performance of the movie in his most prestigious post-Marvel role. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt also get to shine in important supporting roles, and they are just the tip of an insanely stacked ensemble cast. Special shoutouts go to Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, and, of course, Florence Pugh. Man, I wish we saw more of her (I mean screentime-wise, we certainly see a lot of her during her short appearance).
Since this is a Christopher Nolan production, it probably goes without saying that it´s technically marvelous. Crisp cinematography, captivating images, booming sound design, and a visceral score make watching this film on an IMAX screen definitely worth it. The atomic bomb test sequence is certainly a highlight of the year.
“Oppenheimer” is a mature and major work of a rightfully celebrated auteur filmmaker. It´s a big film in every sense of the word and it impressively showcases the strengths of cinematic storytelling. I will definitely need some time as well as a rewatch to fully digest it.
Watching this film as a German, I couldn´t help but think “Phew, I´m sure glad that Germany capitulated before the Manhattan Project finished the bomb”. Especially since considering the arguments for Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it´s not entirely unlikely that my hometown could have been selected as a target (I doubt it but it´s not impossible)….chilling thought.
Speaking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was surely the right decision to not show the bombings themselves. I don´t think an American movie could do this justice (also, I still have trauma from watching “Barefoot Gen”, and that´s animation). How the film shows Oppenheimer´s reaction to the bombings is well-done.
To end on a more lighthearted note, I love how in movies when a scientist makes a new discovery and shows it to another scientist, that person just has to look at the calculations for half a second and immediately understands all the implications. I wish this was me reading scientific papers for my studies.
