Likening J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) as the “American Prometheus” , also the title of Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin’s biography about the “father of the atomic bomb”, upon which this prestigious biopic is based, right out of the box, Christopher Nolan’s OPPENHEIMER loudly proclaims that it will be neither a hagiography nor an apologia. Oppenheimer, like the fabled fire thief, is a tortured soul who will be forever cursed by his monumental achievement, and a key question emerges: how is his conscience?

This is what Nolan vows to unpick through this 3-hour epic, and it is startling to see, in his college years, Oppenheimer (Murphy) is not above petty vengeance when being picked on, a murderous ideation is conceptualized and actualized before being snuffed out in the last minute, Niels Bohr (Branagh), the noble-winning physicist who is also Oppenheimer’s idol, nearly buys the farm as an innocent casualty. This incident sets up the base note of the film’s slant: Oppenheimer is a scientific genius, but as a human being, his dark side never lurks away from the surface.

Discarding biopic’s go-to chronological narrative mode, OPPENHEIMER’s through lines are two hearings: one is Oppenheimer’s security hearing in 1954, another is Lewis Strauss’s Senate confirmation hearing for Secretary of Commerce in 1959 (with the scenes and recollections shot in black-and-white). Strauss (Downey Jr.) is one of the original members of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), who hires Oppenheimer in the first place, but their relationship turns sour, and the reason behind it is truly fascinating, the film only reveals in the very end that it is merely a misunderstanding, what Strauss perceives as an offense (snubbed by Einstein) has nothing to do with him after all. Envy, grievance and enmity are like cankers borne out of too much ego and not enough humility, especially for extraordinary men like Strauss and Oppenheimer, more often than not, they are none the wiser than us lesser mortals. Also, the elusiveness of veridicality and a person’s inner thought is a real comedown.

Corralling an appreciable ensemble cast and fending off physical technicalities as much as it can, OPPENHEIMER makes for an illuminating viewing of the birth of the first atomic bomb. All the historical characters are there, more or less give their indelible contributions to the whole picture. Among which, Emily Blunt plays Oppenheimer’s wife Kitty with a hardened flintiness and never lets the chip off her shoulder, her cold gaze and a trenchant rebuttal during her husband’s hearing earn her enough stripes for her very first Oscar nomination, if the film can sweep all across the board. Another important female character, Oppenheimer’s lover Jean Tatlock, has less screen time but Florence Pugh is ballsy enough to embody Jean’s paradoxical personalities with a sharp impression.

On the spear side, Downey Jr., at this point, is a shoo-in for earning his third Oscar nomination, his Strauss is venomous in the subtitling way, but there is also space fro manifest his exasperation outwardly, a typical award-baiting role, the question is, can he win? Not that the entire Academy wants people to be reminded of that his second nomination is a black-face performance from Ben Stiller’s TROPICAL THUNDER (2008). He is far from overdue, if I don’t mind being the devil’s advocate.

Gen. Leslie Groves, the director of the Manhattan Project, marks Damon’s best performance in recent years, who seems effortlessly moulded into the role without the halting baggage often associated with his works. Gen. Groves comes off as an excellent specimen of a military man who is savvy with the scientific sphere, his friend-or-foe ambiguity also alludes to the USA government’s scorched earth policy towards those brilliant brains (one time, he jokes about eliminating a scientist who quits the secret project). Three Oscar-winning actors assume small roles with distinction, Gary Oldman is a snarling president Harry S. Truman, Casey Affleck exudes a psychopathic callousness as a military intelligence officer and Rami Malek is entrusted with a table-turning role in Strauss’s hearing as Dr. David Hill. But the most memorable cameo must be ascribed to Tom Conti’s impersonation of Einstein, cordial but also wistful, who can forecast Oppenheimer’s own plight yet his fair warning may just as well fall on deaf ears.

Naturally, we need to talk about Murphy, our current frontrunner in the category of Best Actor in a Leading Role, who unerringly rises to the occasion of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and mesmerically brings to life an Oppenheimer ever so complex, impervious and perfectly imperfect, alternately confident and shell-shock in his drawn physique. His conscience cannot live down the fact that his team’s groundbreaking discovery has been employed to cause mass destruction (even under the pretext of stopping an ongoing war, why not send an ultimatum to forewarn the Japanese people and at least grant them the freedom to act according to what they choose to believe? A humane gesture a country could’ve offered to any of its enemies), but he is also immensely proud of this achievement.

Like fire, nuclear technology can both provide stable energy for us and destroy us in a trice, there is no surety that it will always be utilized in the most beneficial, most human way. Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a glaring case in point (the reason why Kyoto is spared is a disconcerting manifestation of man’s God complex). It does expedite to sound the death knell of WWII, but it cannot mask the bloodthirsty evilness and savage callousness behind the gung-ho spirit, that’s the scourge of mankind, and warfare always brings out the worst in ourselves. In the event, Oppenheimer voluntarily seeks to be martyrized, his subsequent fall from grace because of red scare is just what the doctor ordered to salve his qualms and get that tremendous monkey off his back.

While the film is dialogue-ridden, Nolan doesn’t slack off on the hardware division, OPPENHEIMER’s visual scale and production value is totally constant with his high-end filmic texture and expressiveness. CGI imagery is minimized to allow for a more realistic, immersive viewing experience where sometimes sound effects are maxed out, like during the money shot of “the Trinity test”, the stunning sonic impact majestically overwhelms the ocular splendor. Best Nolan’s film so far? Your mileage may vary, but few can refute that it is high time that Nolan gets to stand on the podium to receive the top honor for his unparalleled filmmaking mastery, hope springs eternal!

referential entries: Nolan’s DUNKIRK (2017, 8.2/10); TENET (2020, 7.7/10).

Title: Oppenheimer

Year: 2023

Genre: Biography, Drama, History

Country: USA, UK

Language: English, German, Italian

Director/Screenwriter: Christopher Nolan

Based on the book “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin

Music: Ludwig Göransson

Cinematography: Hoyte Van Hoytema

Editor: Jenifer Lame

Cast:

Cillian Murphy

Emily Blunt

Robert Downey Jr.

Matt Damon

Florence Pugh

Josh Hartnett

Benny Safdie

Jason Clarke

Macon Blair

David Krumholtz

Dane DeHaan

Alden Ehrenreich

Tom Conti

Kenneth Branagh

Casey Affleck

Rami Malek

Dylan Arnold

Tony Goldwyn

Matthew Modine

Gustaf Skarsgård

Michael Angarano

Josh Peck

Jefferson Hall

James D’Arcy

David Dastmalchian

Olivia Thirlby

Jack Quaid

Christopher Denham

Louise Lombard

Alex Wolff

Gary Oldman

James Remar

Matthias Schweighöfer

James Urbaniak

Emma Dumont

Pat Skipper

Scott Grimes

Rating: 8.4/10