Movie Review: Oppenheimer

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Possibly Christopher Nolan's best film. 

Christopher Nolan's harshest critics often accuse him of being too much style over substance. While I really like the filmmaker, it is hard to argue this point on many of his films (especially the recent Tenet). However that is not the case here. While this movie has all the hallmarks of Nolan's signature style (non-liner storytelling and heavy use of close-ups to name a couple), they are now fully subservient to the story and characters. In fact, despite many great experimental touches in how the story is told, the story itself is Nolan's most conventional since The Dark Knight Trilogy. Despite a lack of subtitles stating the time or place of each scene, in a movie that hops around between different time periods and places, this movie is incredibly easy to follow. This makes for something that can be appreciated by both film scholars and the average movie goer. However saying that the story is easy to follow is not saying it is not complex. As any movie about "the father of the atomic bomb" should be this film is very morally complex. Whether our main character is a hero, a villain or both is something that we are left to decide for ourselves. This film provides arguments for all these beliefs and many are hard to argue with. One thing is not in doubt though and that is that this character always feels like a real person with both virtues and flaws. Much of this is due to a wonderfully human performance by Cillian Murphy (who had worked with Nolan before playing the Scarecrow in The Dark Knight Trilogy). Like many of Nolan's films this movie is very dialogue heavy. This is not a problem here as much of the dialogue is very intelligent and thought provoking. Though this movie doesn't tell us how to feel about our main character, one thing it clearly takes a side on is the communist witch trials in post-World War 2 America. Many films have taken aim at this, but once again this movie gives a very intelligent look at this dark moment in American history. As stated before, this movie takes a non-liner approach to its storytelling and that proves to be the right way to tell this story. It lets us see the differences in how Oppenheimer was looked at before and after World War 2 and how America itself had changed. To go back in forth between these makes the contrast all the more effective. 

Nolan likes to work in the IMAX format (as well as on film) and the way he uses this format is fantastic. He really experiments with what he can do with sound here and the result is incredible and truly makes this movie a more impactful experience. 

The only real complaint I have is one scene involving President Truman. This scene simply stands out as hokey and too on the nose, which is in contrast to the rest of the film. However, one small scene in a 3-hour movie, is not a big problem.

This is simply a must see.