Oppenheimer the latest and longest Christopher Nolan Film
Tackles the personal and professional life of the man cursed with the title: "The father of the atomic bomb." Slight spoilers, but they be fair most of this is on a Wikipedia page somewhere.
To say that this is a review that won't do the film any justice would be a fair statement. A short opinion on a 3 hour film about a multilayered topic and subject is a huge endeavor, but I'll take a shot at it . The story tends to dive deep into the personal life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, so much that it is too slow of a start for a film that had some amazing performances by the likes of Robert Downey Jr.,Emily Blunt, and of course our titular character Cillian Murphy. As the viewer you get strung along with bits and pieces of the aforementioned acting and the characters don't really have a chance to hit their stride till roughly an hour into the film . Least to say the first 45 min are in my opinion unnecessary as Nolan tried to make Oppenheimer's love life a central theme that keeps haunting him through his career. I truly believe that gathering of his team and building of the top secret town could have been done in a montage. I know this film carries a huge weight , but let's get to the meat and potatoes of it so we can start understanding why the atomic bomb and everyone around Oppenheimer impacted the world . The first section is like reading a long winded fan wiki. We move to our second act and we can see the struggles of the scientific community about having such a weapon and if it's even ethical to compete it let alone use it. Sound plays a huge role in this film or should I say the silence does. The times where silence became a character on screen is obvious a room full of movie goers and a screen white hot with action accompanied by that deafening silence really was felt. The second and third acts play with time that we get to see before, during and after the bombs creation. Political espionage, slander , The depths that pride can take a person . All of this is explored in the 2 final acts of the film . I cannot emphasize how amazing the acting is on screen especially Robert Downey Jr. This will no doubt get him an Oscar nomination. A ton of faces in this film makeup a who's who of Hollywood. From young actors to classic favorites the cast is amazing to watch on screen . The film is definitely a must watch , bit just from the amazing cinematography and images displayed on screen . The fact that you feel that you need to watch it again just in case you missed something. A film that chose to take on a figure often forgotten and place him in this huge production at times feels bloated with trying to stuff as much history and nuance wrapped in moral dilemmas as possible. The film is definitely good but be warned that it's a talky and it's a longy as well.
Dialogue driven , historical drama with a huge cast of well known names, that will entertain and try to have you question your own ethics on , are you responsible for the casualties of your own creation, even if you didn't push the button?
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5