Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan films are always big events. Dunkirk was one continuous shot about the second world war evacuation, Interstellar an intelligent Sci-Fi epic and Tenet a twisty spy thriller that helped revive interest in the big screen post pandemic. Duking it out with Barbie at the box office is his newest one Oppenheimer, a tense drama about the father of the atomic bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer.

An ensemble cast helps tell the tale of Oppenheimer, his friends and foibles, the trials and tribulations of his private life and how he became involved in the Manhattan Project. As well as flitting forward to the controversial security clearance hearing in 1954, and the reds under the bed McCarthyism of the time. At three hours it is a long film, and as it’s science based it is a tad dry, but good things come to those who wait as Nolan has crafted a gripping, high stakes thriller. 

The film has a sombre atmosphere, which matches the nuclear subject matter well. It demonstrates the existential dread of the arms race and explores the moral and philosophical problems of creating such a destructive force. It looks at the man behind it all, that even world changing geniuses are fallible, and apparently incapable of keeping it in their pants. The spectacular looking explosions certainly maintain your interest, aided by the ever brilliant cinematography and the emotionally charged and visceral soundtrack – which, like Tenet, was by Ludwig Göransson not by Hans Zimmer.

The stars have come out for this one, as every scene is littered with recognisable faces – Josh Hartnett, Rami Malek, Kenneth Brannagh, Gary Oldman and Matthew Modini (Papa from Stranger Things) to name but a few. The cream of a very good crop being Cillian Murphy’s troubled genius Oppenheimer, his mistreated but dogged wife Kitty as played by Emily Blunt, and Florence Pugh’s troubled, communist party member Jean Tatlock with whom Oppenheimer got to know. Not forgetting Matt Damon’s entertainingly surly army man Leslie Groves, and Robert Downey Jr’s ambitious, clever and deliciously vindictive businessman and member of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Lewis Strauss. 

Oppenheimer is a tense thriller with high drama, a dark atmosphere and some stunning visuals. It takes a look at the man behind the bomb, and the effect his creation had upon him, those around him and the world. 

8.5/10