Oppenheimer (2023)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Universal Pictures, 180 minutes, R (nudity, adult situations, language)
★★★★★
Critic Richard Roeper called Oppenheimer “one of the best movies of the century.” The hype is justified. Director Christopher Nolan has made a film of epic proportions, social significance, and one so expertly paced that three hours race by.
J. Robert “Oppie” Oppenheimer (1904-67), has been called “the father of the atomic bomb,” which is accurate and ironic for his role in assembling the greatest scientific minds of his generation, though they were often like unruly children in need of cajolement and discipline. Not to mention Oppie’s own misgivings when his horrible weapon became a pawn in the arms race, not an instrument of world peace.
Herding massive egos wasn’t easy. Oppenheimer had id issues of his own and was probably on the high-functioning end of the autism scale. Irish actor Cillian Murphy is letter-perfect in depicting him as overly attuned to sound and light, literal, insensitive to others, and convinced of the rectitude of his every decision. It didn’t help that he had skeletons in his closet, or that many who worked on the Manhattan Project to develop the A-Bomb fell outside the category of well-adjusted. Brigadier General Leslie Groves (Matt Damon), the military director of the project, found it difficult to switch between his command duties and political pressure; Rear Admiral Lewis Straus (Robert Downey, Jr.) was a schemer; and each of the scientists were brilliant but temperamental: Niels Bohr (Kenneth Branagh), David Hill (Rami Malek), Ernest Lawrence (Josh Hartnett), Giovanni Lomantz (Josh Zuckerman), Izzy Rabi (David Kumholtz), Edward Teller (Bernie Safdie)… Hans Bethe, Enrico Fermi, Kurt Gödel, Werner Heisenberg, Roger Robb, Leo Szilard, and snake-in-the-grass Klaus Fuchs.
Oppenheimer was not a safe choice for the project. In addition to his personal quirks, he had red flag friends in several senses of the word. It was legal to join the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) in the 1930s and the Soviet Union (USSR) was allied with the U.S. during World War II, but those in high places distrusted Josef Stalin, the USSR, and American communists. Oppenheimer probably never joined the CPUSA, but his brother Frank did (Dylan Arnold), as did Oppie's friend Hakan Chevalier (Jefferson Hill), and Oppie’s longtime lover Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh). Oppie wasn’t good with people, but he did like sex. He continued dalliances with Tatlock and another scientist’s wife after he married Kitty (Emily Blunt), who was married three previous times, once to a CPUSA member.
In other words, Oppenheimer’s life was as messy as the physics theories that tortured his mind. Complicated individuals plus an enormously complicated project equals a large cast. If your grasp of the history of physics is weak, you could get lost in trying to keep track of who’s who in Oppenheimer. My advice is don’t try. The film eventually boils down to the competing objectives of three people: Oppenheimer, Groves, and the oily Straus. All you need know is that everyone else in the film–including humorless intelligence officers–align themselves according to their own agendas, loyalties, and grudges. Know also that what was tolerated during the war changed dramatically when the threat of Nazism gave way to a postwar Red Scare. Oppenheimer was among those who went from hero to victim.
Director Christopher Nolan signals the shift by subtly dividing Oppenheimer into two chapters: Fission and Fusion. The atomic bomb was a fission weapon that split atoms into two pieces. Metaphorically the race for an A-bomb meant winning or losing the war. Fusion bombs such as the more powerful hydrogen bomb “fuse” two atoms to create a third. Think Oppie (science), Groves (military), and Straus (political ambition).
Murphy and Downey Jr. have been nominated for Best Actor and Supporting Actor Oscars respectively. They are deserving choices. I’m less enthusiastic about Emily Blunt for Best Supporting Actress, but not because of her acting. Oppenheimer violates the Bechdel Rule with its aggressively male story line. Only Florence Pugh is less than an appendage to the men and would be a better choice to be honored.
Don’t cavalierly dismiss Oppenheimer as sexist. Blunt’s performance was in accordance with gender roles of the time period. Nolan’s film is masterful for capturing the social milieu and for its innovative use of 65 mm IMAX and large-format cameras. Oppie left a contestable legacy that Nolan incisively captures.
Rob Weir
P.S. See if you recognize who plays President Truman!
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