Oppenheimer Movie Review

Oppenheimer (2023)

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Written by: Christopher Nolan (written for the screen by), Kai Bird & Martin Sherwin (book)
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Alden Ehrenreich, Scott Grimes, Jason Clarke, Macon Blair, James D'Archy
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.

Verdict
It's an incredibly ambitious and big movie; big budget, events and a cast list that just keeps going. Being a Nolan film, it jumps around in time to boost the narrative but you can't deny that every single frame is a portrait. This tells the story of a scientist and an inflection point in history with energy and drive. It's absolutely an experience. While the last third isn't as intense, it's still integral to Oppenheimer's story as we see the before and after of the Manhattan project.
Watch It.

Review
The first several scenes jump around in time from a young Oppenheimer (Cillian Muprhy) in college to a future version reading a statement in front of a security clearance committee. We also see Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.) throughout the movie answering questions during his confirmation for Secretary of Commerce. These quick scenes let us know how polarizing Oppenheimer is.

After that introduction this shows Oppenheimer's interest in quantum mechanics as he moves to Europe to pursue study. He's incredibly gifted, and the movie opts for the artistic as it tries to show us the science in his mind. Once he's done with school, he moves back to America to share what he's learned.

Cillian Murphy plays Robert J. Oppenheimer

With the advent of fission, America wants to create a weapon before anyone else. Oppenheimer is the superior choice to lead the project, but his communist ties remain an issue for his occupation and his access to the atom bomb project. Despite the ties, Oppenheimer is given power to create a secret city in the middle of nowhere, Los Alamos. It's the Manhattan project. The odds are against America as they're behind. How do you win? The plan is to move quickly and devote themselves to the project. Oppenheimer is a scientist first, and he gives up his child to focus on the project. It's not a higher calling, but the removal of a burden. This movie doesn't portray Oppenheimer as a saint.

Every frame in this movie is a picture. It's beautiful, and it captures the time period, something that only big budget productions can do. The first two thirds maintain an energy and intensity as Oppenheimer is driven to push the limits of science. The atom bomb is the next step in his study, and his pursuit is the science and less the repercussions and ramifications of the weapon.

Oppenheimer was a theoretical physicist as he wasn't great in the lab nor at math, but he had a keen understanding of physics and was able to teach it well. This project is where theory meets practice. "Theory will only take you so far." The story of Los Alamo is punctuated by cutaways to Strauss's confirmation, providing insight and exposition into the larger operation.

Oppenheimer watches the Trinity Test

The pacing is incredible, seeming so much shorter than it is. That's helped due to the race to be first to discover how to develop a bomb. That's a big focus and we get inset scenes of a model showing the center of the bomb and the shielding around it being assembled piece by piece to let us know the progress. Everything at Los Alamos is the prelude.

The trinity test sequence, the music, the cuts; it's expert film making. That punctuates an incredibly well made film. Once the test is successful, Oppenheimer's quest is over. It's up to the military to do with it as they choose. Oppenheimer isn't without regret.
The pacing changes after the bombs are dropped as we get into the feuding, fallout, and fecklessness of Strauss. The last third is a different movie as we wade around the muck; a witch hunt against Oppenheimer orchestrated by Strauss due to a perceived slight. It's less engaging than the pursuit of science, but it's an important aspect of Oppenheimer's legacy.

Oppenheimer isn't without fault, but it's wrong to blame him for the bomb. He developed the science, but he didn't drop it. While his communist ties followed him around, he was always interested in ideas. The bomb was a pursuit in science as he led the charge into a new frontier. Struass's charade was pettiness and paid the price. You can't tell the story of Oppenheimer without what happened after the bomb.