Anthony's Film Review - Oppenheimer (2023)

Christopher Nolan's biopic about the father of the atomic bomb is intense and memorable...

J. Robert Oppenheimer is a name that should be familiar to anyone who has studied the history of America or the history of science, particularly physics. If he doesn't ring a bell for you, don't worry. This movie about him will make his name super familiar. Thanks to Christopher Nolan writing, producing, and directing this movie, you will be able to know who J. Robert Oppenheimer was, even if you never heard of him beforehand.

This is an epic three-hour film that covers the life of Oppenheimer before, during, and after development of the first atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy stars as the titular Oppenheimer who has a rather interesting combination of traits. He was a brilliant physicist, yet also a womanizer and possibly a communist sympathizer. As a result, the story presents a mix of science, politics, and human drama. Let me dive deeper into all of that.

The first third of the movie focuses on Oppenheimer the rising scientist. We see him meet various experts in the field of physics, including Neils Bohr and even Albert Einstein. Later, Oppenheimer is given a faculty position at the University of California, Berkeley. He also has a relationship with a member of a local communist party and later marries a biologist. There are so many moments in this part of the movie that they're presented in many short camera shots, creating a fast pace in the storytelling.

The middle part of the film is about Oppenheimer's claim to fame. He is hired to lead a secret government project: developing an atomic bomb that could help end World War II. This is done in the Los Alamos Laboratory in the middle of the New Mexico desert, with a newly built town set up specifically for the families of the Los Alamos team members. The intense drama of building the bomb leads up to the even more dramatic moment of testing it. What if it goes wrong, so that years of work go down the toilet? The bomb test shown in the film really does capture the emotions surrounding it, like anticipation and anxiety.

The third part of the film is less about physics and much more about politics. Oppenheimer realizes that he has unleashed a weapon that is clearly a threat to mankind. But that won't stop the U.S. government from arming itself with nuclear weapons, especially as the Soviet Union begins developing its own nuclear weapons, starting the nuclear arms race defining the Cold War. Oppenheimer and the government are now at odds with each other, with the latter doing whatever possible to discredit and defame Oppenheimer. This is especially difficult in a political climate that is highly suspicious of communists infiltrating America and Oppenheimer's past encounters with far-left political groups coming back to haunt him.

OK, enough about the story. Let's talk about the cast at large. Cillian Murphy practically sinks into the role of J. Robert Oppenheimer. There are great performances by plenty of supporting cast members. They include Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer's wife, Florence Pugh as the communist party member Oppenheimer has affairs with, Matt Damon as a military general who oversees the atomic bomb project, Kenneth Branagh as Niels Bohr, and Josh Hartnett as a physicist at Berkeley, and that's only a partial sample. I'll mention one more example, which is my favorite supporting cast member: Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, a politician who is both experienced and shady.

Here's a way I can easily explain how excellent this movie is. I can already predict that it will receive many Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations in 2024. Cillian Murphy for Best Actor and Robert Downey Jr. for Best Supporting Actor will not surprise me one bit. Awards for sound and visual effects are also a good possibility, given the nuclear explosion imagery presented mostly in Oppenheimer's imagination as moral quandaries about the atomic bomb suddenly arise. And of course, Christopher Nolan will be awarded, or at least be nominated, for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture.

Oppenheimer is ultimately one of the best biographical films I have seen in a long time. Admittedly, it took a while to get used to the movie's initial fast pacing, but once I got used to it and the pacing slowed a tiny bit for the middle section, I eagerly followed along. That said, I kept my eyes glued on the screen the entire time, without turning away or falling asleep. Once the final scene played and the credits started rolling, I nodded, clapped a little, and told myself that Oppenheimer was a very good movie. It's a 10 out of 10 for sure.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Oppenheimer, visit the Internet Movie Database.