Oppenheimer
★★★★
Christopher Nolan once again astounds our senses with Oppenheimer. It seems as if he is one of the rare directors that can make quantum physics interesting on screen. Technically, Oppenheimer is a master class in editing, sound, costume and production design, but I was most impressed by how he interweaves multiple storylines to build upon Oppenheimer's personal journey. If you've seen a Nolan film, it's no surprise that he has perfected this narrative strategy, but it particularly works well in this world of science where the characters are talking about theories that most of us would never be able to comprehend. As intellectual as this movie is, I thought it was both easy and entertaining to follow, and that is an achievement in itself.
Save for Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, Nolan essentially is the one person most people remember from his films, but this is a rare case where he gives a lot up to the actors to carry out his script. The performances really stand out here. Cillian Murphy does an amazing job of showing the trajectory of Oppenheimer's personality. It's both understated and brash, and as his character gets older, we can see and understand the weight of the responsibilities that he has to carry out. He comes out the hero, but Murphy gives enough weight to his journey that he allows us to question this stance the whole way through. He is surrounded by a brilliant group of supporting actors who I was with until the end. If I had to quibble with one thing about this movie is that there is a sort of, "A-ha" moment from some of the characters that up to that point, hadn't exhibited such traits. Nolan has always been criticized for not writing big parts for women and he tries to give Emily Blunt's character more of an arc, but unfortunately waists her talent and gives her clichéd traits that we always see in biopic films about powerful men.
That said, Oppenheimer makes us grapple with some very real and unsettling issues about the A-bomb. Nolan isn't afraid to wrestle with the politics of it all and also delicately handles the destruction of the world-changing device. He plays a little bit with the visual impact of what physical harm the bomb encompasses, but like Oppenheimer, lets the tension and fear reside in the mind. The movie gets a little messy at the end, which is a shame because I still think this is an important film to see. It is challenging, interesting and suspenseful. If it wins Best Picture, I wouldn't be mad at the decision at all.
