The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.
Based on the book ‘American Prometheus’ by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, Christopher Nolan’s screenplay adaptation takes a dense work of nonfiction and transforms the events into an appropriately dense narrative that spans roughly three decades. As with most of Nolan’s previous work, a second or third viewing will reveal much that audiences missed in the first.
The cast is nothing short of superb. In the title role, Cillian Murphy demonstrates a fascinating combination of arrogance, naivete, determination, and sheer intelligence. Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty, mostly sits in the back seat until the last twenty minutes of the three-hour runtime, but when she finally comes to life, she does so in a big way.
Matt Damon plays Leslie Groves, the military commander in charge of the Manhattan Project – the collection of top scientists charged with winning the race against Germany to create an atomic weapon. Groves finds himself constantly challenged by Oppenheimer to tear down the siloed efforts installed to ensure security in favor of encouraging greater collaboration among the formidable minds recruited for the project.
Robert Downey, Jr. as Lewis Strauss – an apparently kindly yet mysterious power broker – will almost certainly bag a supporting actor nomination. In his early scenes, he is nearly unrecognizable, demonstrating Downey’s ability to immerse himself into the character.
Gary Oldman makes a credible showing in a brief appearance as a petulant and, of course, no-nonsense President Harry Truman. Jason Clarke as Roger Robb also turns in a nice performance. Kenneth Branagh as Niels Bohr – along with many others too numerous to mention – fill out an excellent ensemble cast.
The conflicts that J. Robert Oppenheimer wrestled with constitute the story’s core. The need to develop a nuclear weapon was forced upon the United States because of Germany’s work in the field, starting with their achievement of splitting the atom before anyone else. As Oppenheimer tells a colleague, “I don’t know if we can be trusted with the atomic bomb, but I am certain that the Nazis cannot.”
Much of the intrigue stems from how the scientists view the immutable realm of physics – with its unassailable rules – and the physical world people inhabit. The great physicists of the 20th century could peer into and speculate about the quantum world and, in the process, unwittingly unleash the power of atomic particles. However, what policymakers decided to do with these perilous achievements is another story altogether – and the one most conspicuously examined by Nolan.
Much of the movie explores the debate between the development of the atomic bomb – a fission device – and the next logical stage of horrific destruction that would combine fission and fusion to create a far more destructive thermonuclear weapon. The stakes are high, and the production lays them out methodically.
During the Korean conflict in the 1950s, President Eisenhower’s military advisors recommended using nuclear weapons almost routinely – an option he repeatedly rejected, the benefits of which we still enjoy today. Having seen the horrors of war first-hand, Eisenhower rightly perceived that such devices of mass destruction would inflict enormous and indiscriminate casualties, likely to be mimicked by other nuclear powers in retaliation. Oppenheimer would undoubtedly have agreed.
The film closes with the proposition that the threat of nuclear holocaust remains with humanity. While a catastrophic chain reaction between the A-bomb and the atmosphere did not occur – which the theorists, including Oppenheimer, could not rule out entirely prior to the Trinity test at Los Alamos, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945 – Nolan’s screenplay suggests that nuclear weapons could yet spell a fiery end for humans – if global warming doesn’t do us in first that is. In an increasingly fragmented world, policymakers and government officials may be unable to rely on the doctrine of mutually assured destruction as a failsafe deterrent. If backed into a corner, a hobbled Russia or a set of desperate terrorist actors could initiate their own form of Armageddon. In such a case, how would Western leaders respond?
The combination of IMAX color and black-and-white stock offers a nice study in contrasts, which helps to clarify the various points in time depicted. Further, for such a lengthy picture, the pacing remains remarkably taut.
Visually stunning, crisply edited, and expertly scored, with a smart screenplay and magnificent cast, “Oppenheimer” will certainly collect its fair share of Academy Awards nominations early next year. J. Robert Oppenheimer was a complex figure embodying myriad contradictions – but above all, he was a man seeking to define rational public policy at the dawn of the atomic age. This opus depicting seminal moments of his life may very well constitute Nolan’s best film to date – which is saying quite something indeed.
In Theaters Friday, July 21st
