Christopher Nolan has an eye for spectacle and an eye for scale, and he evokes worlds that are massive and almost always on the brink of destruction. With “Oppenheimer” ambitiously ventures in to a more personal film that is a lot about power and a world almost always on the brink of destruction thanks to man delving deep in to the power that they are capable of. Nolan trades spectacle for a more personal albeit just as intense dramatic thriller about “Father of the Atomic Bomb” J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist that invariably opened up a Pandora’s Box with his hand in the Manhattan Project.
Oppenheimer is not just a scientist but one tasked with the burden of what he’d inevitably help give birth to with his creation of the Atom bomb and its use during World War II. Oppenheimer himself is an understated madman of sorts, whose own personal life comes crashing in to his professional life. Despite his best efforts, he’s a man who is a victim to his own hubris, and this results in sadly a lot of deaths that are both personal and ultimately written off as casualties for the greater good. “Oppenheimer” doesn’t endorse the Manhattan Project, but remains firmly neutral, instead asking us to comprehend the scope of the power that Oppenheimer helped unleash on to the world.
“Oppenheimer” is about as loud and explosive as one would imagine as Nolan implements stark close ups and non-linear storytelling, as well as erratic sound design as a means of punctuating the trials Oppenheimer endures throughout. There’s the inevitable testing of the bomb that is stunningly staged, as well as a pretty unnerving moment where the sounds of feet stomping and hands clapping almost resemble bombs detonating by the dozens. Nolan digs in to the origin of J. Robert Oppenheimer from his time as an aspiring student, to a revered scientist and his work on the Manhattan Project. Concurrently he’s a victim to his own personal demons, consistently cheating on his long suffering wife.
Oppenheimer can barely handle the small explosions on his personal life but he’s instrumental in engineering one of the most horrific weapons of mass destruction ever conceived. Nolan jumps back and forth with Oppenheimer’s inquisition with the US government over renewing his access. All the while he evades attempts by his colleague Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr. is marvelous) to undermine his credibility and loyalty to the program. Nolan’s intimacy borders on intrusive at times, injecting a sense of urgency in every narrative beat, and implementing various close ups. Star Cillian Murphy (one in a massive ensemble cast) is mostly the focus as we get to experience the awe and subtle horror in his evolution as a scientist, and what he would usher in over the course of his life.
“Oppenheimer” is not so much, in the end, about the creation of a massive weapon, but about petty and spiteful men that have access to that massive weapon just waiting in the wings. It’s a concept that not even Oppenheimer could really have foretold, and it’s a terrifying idea when one stops and soaks it in. Sure to be recognized come Oscar season, “Oppenheimer” is a masterstroke from Christopher Nolan who devises an intricate, engrossing and important drama that’s as resonant today than it ever has been.