MovieSnob04’s review published on Letterboxd:
BARBENHEIMER #1
First cinema double feature baby!!!! And what an awesome day it was. Two great films that i had a blast watching in the cinema with very engaged fellow audience members who laughed, gasped and applauded at the end of both, quite literally. What an atmosphere. But now on to the review....
Oppenheimer is a cinematic experience like no other and even with one viewing I'd call it one of my favourites from Christopher Nolan, it contains some of the best direction and screenwriting of his career, tackling a monumental point in history that's well suited to his particular style of filmmaking and of course comes with it an insane cast of phenomenal talents, with some of them providing their best work to date. Even with a 3 hour runtime the film never wavered in interest or suspense for myself even with the films many jumps between time points and events in Oppenheimer and Lewis Strauss' journeys, which is absolutely in line with what you would come to expect in a Nolan film but here it helps to build both dramatic irony, a sense of imagination as well as deviation from the usual biopic style and how the mammoth non fiction book from which this film is based off of tells the story in a more chronological and conventional manner, for those who already know the history and events, the film is still extremely enticing and frightening.
Christopher Nolan's direction and ability with the camera is off the charts with so many great uses of claustrophobic close ups of characters, especially our title protagonist to portray the severity of his many situations and inner turmoils. The films script was initially written in the first person and it absolutely shows in the films amazing ability to really keep its focus on Oppenheimer and his inner thinkings even with the barrage of supporting characters and its Nolan's specific framing as well as the editing that does so much to accomplish this.
Nolans screenplay is dense in dialogue but in a way that feels truly rich, varied and very personal even at its most largest scale with dialogue that perfectly matches each characters personality as well as lines that are genuisely ripped from prior sources on the subject that are done in a way that feels natural and organic. Each prominent character receives a scene that makes them feel understood and realised, which ensures they feel more than one dimensional themselves as well as being important pieces to uncovering Oppenheimers vast puzzle.
Ludwig Gorranson's music just leaps off the screen in ways that are truly boundless with terrific orchestral themes and violin pieces that both add to the incredible intensity of the film but also feel majestic and swelter your emotions in a way that only great music can, among many other categories Ludwig deserves a second Oscar for this.
Hoyte Van Hoytema is a master of cinematography and in this movie his flecks the ever living muscles out of his prowess with obvious highlights being the bomb testing in which his sense of spectacle and colour are truly jaw dropping but also the black and white segments which have a great filmic quality to them in its hazed and muted look representing Strauss' troubled headspace.
The cast to no suprise is truly superb. Cillian Murphy is astonishing as J. Robert Oppenheimer in a truly career topping role, he captures his sense of wit, disparity, intellect and cold distanced look that makes you both shiver and ponder what's going on in that vast yet deeply disturbed mind. The level of physical dedication he gives to how the character moves, even how he expresses through his eyes is nothing short of remarkable and the dialogue of the character no matter how complex and dense in physicist speech never feels dreary and always with a level of passion and will to it. Robert Downey Jr gives maybe his best performance ever too as Strauss, a man who is equally troubled with his sense of responsibility and yearn for respect and ego, and the battling of these two complex minds through both traditional conversation as well as how the film switches back and forth scenes through their different perspectives is truly brilliant, and Downey is intimidating, mysterious and layered as this character with his long monologues and cold stares that really feel like an actor at the peak of his game. Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh do some incredible work also, Blunt as the complicated wife of Oppenheimer who is very troubled in her attitude and mental capacity with her children as well as her often very closed off spouse with his own set of problems, but she's also a strong willed individual who talks down anyone who would ridicule her, especially in a scene with Jason Clarke (who perfectly plays such a dastardly asshole) in which she stands up for her dignity and annihilates everyone else in the room. Pugh is haunting as Jean Tatlock, one of Oppenheimers most frightening encounters in life who is plagued with a massive lack of self worth and depression but also very capable of pointing out the fundamental weaknesses in Robert's character as he tries to push away his humanity and responsibilities for the sake of one massive goal. Josh Hartnett and David Krumholtz in my eyes deserve far more recognition for their work as both terrific allies to Robert who challenge his philosophies as a scientist yet also are close friends willing to protect him in hard times, I was joyed to see these two finally in something huge like this where they really got to show their range, the same goes for Alden Ehrenreich who is also brilliant as the perfect fuse to Strauss' temper. Matt Damon, Matthew Modine, Kenneth Branagh, the inimitable Benny Safdie who is equally versatile as an actor as he is a director, and so many more all get their awesome moments that show that Nolan never simply stunt casts and always picks the best actors for the job.
Nolan does not joke around when he calls this a horror film. The movie's sound design is impeccable, especially in imax of balancing out all the confused and tortured sounds in Robert's head as he contemplates the moral ambiguity of his actions for his country and the film absolutely captures the devastation of the world war 2 bombings that took a toll on its creators mind, and the film leaves so much wiggle room for further examination and questioning of what the creation of the atom bomb has done for our world today and the mistakes of the past, as well as how as a creator, we truly have no power on how our own inventions will be used or interpreted. The whole film invokes the famous Hindu scripture quote "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds".
I could say so much more and will definitely be tempted to after further viewings but Oppenheimer is a staggering cinematic achievement that's as much a visual spectacle of a production crew on top form as it is a personal story and examination of one of histories most complex and controversial figures in a way that feels human, large scale, interpretive and very layered. A film that must be seen on the biggest screen possible and will leave you floored in thought once it has reached its conclusion. A movie so fantastic it had my audience clapping eruptorously at the end which trust me coming from my country happens very little even in packed screenings, despite that everyone otherwise left in silent contemplation, something I hope more films of this kind of blockbuster caliber will provide for us more in future years.
