Movie Poster

Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.

Past Christopher Nolan film reviews:

• Inception
• Interstellar
• Tenet

# Review

I finally watched this film about physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy). I’m a big Nolan fan and Oppenheimer is perhaps one of the most dramatic stories in physics, so I had high expectations for this film. The story, in classic Nolan fashion, takes place simultaneously in different time periods. It covers the rise of Oppenheimer before and during the building of the atomic bomb, and at the same time it covers the questioning of Oppenheimer during his Q clearance renewal.

For a drama film, the aesthetics is very exciting; the use of different styles not only keeps the audience engaged but also helps separate the different narrative time periods. The soundtrack by Ludwig Göransson is phenomenal. The character and costume designs are also worth noting. Murphy’s Oppenheimer has a broad range while his supporting cast, which includes Emily Blunt’s Kitty Oppenheimer, Matt Damon’s Leslie Groves, and Florence Pugh’s Jean Tatlock, are able to serve as excellent foils. There were many other amazing actors who played supporting roles in the story, such as Robert Downey Jr.’s Lewis Strauss, Jason Clarke’s Roger Robb, and David Dastmalchian’s William L. Borden. The film is quite long and sometimes the pacing can be on the slower side.

My favourite characters are definitely the portrayal of the various scientists who were involved in the project, such as Josh Hartnett’s Ernest Lawrence, Benny Safdie’s Edward Teller, and Tom Conti’s Albert Einstein. It’s always surprising how many Nobel laureates were involved in the project, such as Isidor Isaac Rabi (David Krumholtz) and Richard Feynman (Jack Quaid). For science nerds such as myself, this movie is phenomenal just for how many important scientific figures are being portrayed, such as Werner Heisenberg (Matthias Schweighöfer), Niels Bohr (Kenneth Branagh), and Enrico Fermi (Danny Deferrari). For people who enjoy political dramas, Oppenheimer is probably one of the most impressive political operatives in recent history, and well worth studying.

# Conclusion

A film that captures one of the most significant scientific projects in history, and the man at the center of it all.

# Overall rating: 8.0

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