Oppenheimer Review - Christopher Nolan's Cinematic Bomb Blasts On And Off Screen

Christopher Nolan, one of the greatest filmmakers in the World with the most consistent filmography, brings a new cinematic treat, "Oppenheimer". Based on the life of a physicist named "J. Robert Oppenheimer," this one is easily the most human-driven story ever told by Nolan. There is less action, more drama; there is less complexity, more tension; there is less soul, more characteristics, there is less everything of known-Nolan, but finally we have conversations in a Nolan movie. Oppenheimer is anything but a trademark Nolan film. When you look at his filmography, you see these things: Following was a low-budget banger with a classic twist; Memento is pathbreaking storytelling; Insomania is his attempt at psychological tension; Batman Begins is a revolution in the Superhero genre; The Prestige is a magical thriller; The Dark Knight is an Intellectual face off between the hero and the villain; Inception is a next-level sci-fi thriller; The Dark Knight Rises is a fulfilling send-off to the greatest superhero trilogy ever; Interstellar is an expansion of sci-fi Epic beyond infinity; Dunkirk is the most human-friendly and technically brilliant war drama; and Tenet is a fine example of time-breaking theme meeting groundbreaking visuals. After serving us something of the Nolan-fied genre in his every movie, the man finally enters the human drama genre, and how? If you think that Oppenheimer will be talking about the invention of the atom bomb and will take you to a laboratory to see the practicals behind its making, then you are wrong. Apparently, I was thinking of the same stuff, but I was wrong. The film is all about its title — Oppenheimer. It's the journey of a man who was excited to create a power that would make his country survive, but soon he realises that it is making some people lose their lives. The excitement, the trauma, the shivering, the lifelong guilt everything is there. There is blood on his hands, and he can't wash it. It's a textbook on Oppenheimer's life, but in a 3-hour brief. One thing is sure, after watching this film, you'll never forgive the name of J. Robert Oppenheimer, not because he achieved something in his life but because of what he lost.As we know, Nolan does not believe in simple linear equations, so he has a non-linear narration again. One of them runs in black and white, indicating that the world is colourless after the fruit has spread its fire all over the world, not just Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Lieutenant General Leslie Richard Groves (Matt Damon) trusts J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) to create a miracle for the American Government. Robert is appointed director of the project's Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, tasked with developing the first nuclear weapons, four years after the start of the German nuclear weapons programme. Robert and the team achieve success at the Trinity test, and the president soon sends the bombs to be dropped on Japanese soil. Robert's celebration soon turns into a trauma, and he realises that the world might never be the same. He is framed for being a Soviet Spy, and the legal fight is not in his favour. How the most important man in the world at that time is trapped against the odds and how his acquaintances turn their backs on him is all that you get to see in the latter half.A three-hour runtime frightens me for sure, but not when the director is Nolan or Cameron. A three-hour movie does not feel boring, if it's Avatar 2 or Oppenheimer. The screenplay is on the job there, and it makes every minute worth it. Oppenheimer is pretty slow in the beginning as the characters are new and a lot of Robert's personal life is discussed on the screen. So he was a womaniser, a communist, and not a brilliant man, but do we have to see it all? And for so long? Oppenheimer loses the character's grip there. Robert's complicated illicit affair with Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh) is too detailed and bare. I know a lot of Indians are curious to know whether that Bhagwadgita phrase is used in the film or not, so let me tell you, yes, it is used, and twice. The first use of "I am become death, the destroyer of the world" might offend some religious people here. It might even become a big controversy in our country today. In those old times, when they told us the biopics of legendary inventors with "The Story of Louis Pasteur" (1936), "Edison The Man" (1940), "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet" (1940), "Madam Curie" (1942), and a few others, they never showed the protagonist in a bad light. But that era is gone, and today we have to deal with several intimate facts that need to be shown in the film, so it's okay. The slow start does an effective trick to let us know the characters, but even 3 hours feels too short for them to fit well.Cillian Murphy is flawless as J. Robert Oppenheimer from start to end. You might have seen him in many good roles and solid performances, but this one surpasses them all. The tension, the fear, the excitement, the enthusiasm, the pressure, the guilt, and many more things, but this man carried full loads on his shoulder. Out of 3 hours, this guy hooks you to the screen for about 2 and a half hours, while all the others get half an hour of their own. It was such a big responsibility, and he did a great job. It's not just about facial expressions and dialogue delivery; Murphy had to look like Oppenheimer. For people who haven't seen Robert Oppenheimer in real life, Cillian Murphy is Robert Oppenheimer. Emily Blunt's shovelling testimony will win your heart, but there is nothing much to do for her there. He is there for 20 minutes, or maybe 30, but the way Robert Downey Jr. has brought Lewis Strauss to the screen is simply amazing. Matt Damon's general is rough and tough, Josh Harnett's Lawrence is noticeable, Kenneth Branagh and Casey Affleck are fine, Rami Malek's cameo will have you clapping, and Tom Conti's Einstein is impeccable. Florence Pugh looks solid and drippy (as the character demands), while the big supporting cast of Benny Safdie, Dylan Arnold, Matthew Modine, Michael Angarano, Jack Quaid, Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby, David Krumholtz, Dane DeHaan, David Dastmalchian, and others have been extremely encouraging.Oppenheimer is technically a powerful film, but not as great as some of Nolan's previous works. The background score will have your heart pumping Faster on many occasions, and that disturbing score with lapses will have your throat choked. Watch out for the Trinity test sequences and Oppenheimer's testimony scene, and I am 100% sure you are gonna be blown away by the impact of the BGM. Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography is very fine, especially the nuke scene. Nolan usually believes in practical effects and 2D viewing, and he also made this film without any CGI segments. Oppenheimer does not have anything groundbreaking as such, but the realistic effects do work on the IMAX screen. For instance, the bomb explosion scene. You expect it to be loud from the start, but you get a low sound and literally silence there. It makes practical sense, as we know sound takes time to travel, and by the time it reaches you, you are completely unaware of its existence. That's a masterstroke. A technical brilliance that everyone should notice. Christopher Nolan's storytelling goes through a change here. As mentioned above, Oppenheimer has nothing stone-breaking to offer, and frankly, it gets confusing sometimes with the new characters talking about something terribly new that you aren't aware of, but it's such a pleasure to see Nolan trying a simple human story with his extraordinary vision, of course. Robert's speech scene after the successful bomb test is artistically wonderful. The man has to speak about celebration and all happy things, and he does that, but his inner world is destroyed in those moments. How to describe two different emotions, happiness and sadness, at the same time is what you learn from Master Nolan here. See that framework, man. Oppenheimer is about Nolan attempting a complete character study, and for this reason, it is a must-see. The feel of the docudrama takes away the mass appeal of the film, but did Nolan ever care about that chunk of audiences? No. He didn't. He has his own audience, which is smart enough to understand his cinema. That's what you get here. Nolan's latest cinematic bomb blasts on the screen and leaves you burning off screen with its traumatic consequences. One bomb blasts there on the big screen, and the other one blasts outside the screen—that's inside you.