“Oppenheimer”: Christopher Nolan’s Most Momentous Film to Date
A measured exploration of World War II’s most infamous creation
Christopher Nolan is a director like no other, and his latest film is a crowning example of the lengths that he goes to fulfill his artistic visions. In a time when cinema is considered by many to be on the way out, Oppenheimer’s ability to sell out theaters stands as a testament not only to Nolan’s creative prowess, but to the value of the theatrical experience as a whole.
As streaming options have continued to expand, and the TVs within our homes have begun to traffic in higher resolutions and wider dynamic ranges, it’s grown harder for many to find reasons to continue going out to the movies. The onset of the pandemic and the resulting lockdowns marked an apparent end to the movie-going experience for much of the world.
But with the emergence of movies like Avatar: The Way of the Water, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and now, Oppenheimer, people appear to have found a renewed interest in the theatrical experience.
As the pandemic wore on, many theaters found ways of adapting to the changing times. By the time that people were ready to return to the theaters, they were welcomed back in by an ensemble of reclining seats, and an array of IMAX, 3D, 4DX, and Dolby Cinema screenings to choose between. Christopher Nolan has broken ground in the past for his ability to lucidly animate characters and time periods, and so much of the reason for that rests on the cameras which he chooses to shoot his films, and the theaters in which his films can be screened. For over a decade, each Nolan film has presented a cogent argument for the merits of movie-going.
Since as far back as 2008’s release of The Dark Knight, Nolan has shot his films completely, or largely on 70MM IMAX film. The cameras used to capture this kind of video are far larger and less wieldy than their 35MM counterparts, but the payoff in using them can be enormous — literally. The final result is that Nolan’s films exhibit a level of immersion so profound that they can feel more like experiences lived than movies watched.
To see Interstellar on a 70MM IMAX theatre still stands as the greatest cinematic experience of my life. The leaps and bounds that have been made in CGI in the near decade since it was released have only managed to heighten the magnitude of that achievement. To see that movie unfold at that scale was nearly vertigo-inducing.
Dunkirk’s exploration of WWII goes to painstaking lengths to render one of the war’s most harrowing and heroic moments. From its opening sequence, the audience feels practically as though they’re living the events themselves.
Oppenheimer, in many regards, feels like another half to that same coin. Nolan’s preoccupation with that time period is no less apparent, but his approach in bringing it to life could hardly be more different. Where Dunkirk darkly illuminates World War II with its grave ambience and subtle, unburdened character portrayals, Oppenheimer portrays its characters vividly. The characters it creates, though, are now at the expense of the exercises in brutality that defined the front lines of Dunkirk.
Notably absent from the film is the visual spectacle that defines so many other films of today. The movie manages to refrain from all use of CGI in its 3 hour runtime. Every visual component in the film is achieved through practical effects alone — from the atomic bomb dropping to the all-engulfing flash of white that follows it. The absence of in-your-face action sequences, though, in no way detracts from what an achievement it was to capture this film fully in 70MM IMAX. In fact, the final film reel is an entire 11 miles long and a record-breaking 600 pounds, roughly ten times greater than the average film reel.
What the film lacks in action thrills it more than makes up for in its stirring dialogue. Where films like Inception and Tenet are convoluted enough to feel bloated at times, Oppenheimer strikes a more masterful balance. Even in a film almost completely driven by its dialogue, it never feels as cumbersome as the cameras that were used to film it. It’s paced well enough to keep its viewers engaged from its opening all the way until its closing credits.
One of Oppenheimer’s greatest achievements is its ability to make tangible characters out of some of history’s less explored minds. The personification of Robert Oppenheimer is long overdue, and Cillian Murphy’s expert portrayal of his complicated genius is an achievement for the ages. Tom Conti’s Albert Einstein, too, exhibits a tortured and measured brilliance.
Conti moves about with a stilted, placid frailty that only lends deeper impact to his sparse few words. Though he has limited screen time to work with, his succinct lines of dialogue could hardly feel more true to the exalted physicist.
Because the film features very little in the way of real action, its most punishing blows are dealt not by muscular men in tights, but by the thinkers behind the scenes. The thoughtful words of Einstein, Rami Malek’s David Hill and Emily Blunt’s Kitty Oppenheimer each carry with them the weight of some of cinema’s most powerful ex-machina moments.
Robert Downey Jr., widely seen as the driving force behind the Marvel franchise, delivers what many consider to be the best performance of his career.
Crucial to any Nolan film has always been the soundtrack. The approach taken by Oppenheimer has been a decidedly different one than in many of his past projects. Where the soundtrack to Interstellar is spacious, ethereal and introspective, Oppenheimer’s is driven and potent. Where Dunkirk’s score is tense, minimalist and propulsive, Oppenheimer’s is sober, brooding and suspenseful. Composer Ludwig Göransson described actualizing the project as one of the most challenging musical endeavors of his career.
Oppenheimer has already been lauded, not only as the film of the year, or even decade, but as one of the most impactful movies of the entire century. As humanity appears to inch closer and closer to the next deployment of an atomic bomb, Nolan’s film serves as a masterful examination of the events surrounding the weapon’s creation. It’s one of the most important events ever depicted, and it’s a depiction that it was imperative for Nolan to get right.
Atomic warfare is no subject to glamorize, and Nolan made the concerted decision not to illustrate the fallout that resulted from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Instead, he offers a tragic character study of the man who fathered the atomic bomb, and a cautionary tale about ambition, destruction and regret.