Editor’s Update / March 11, 2024 / The 2023 biographical thriller film written, directed and produced by Christopher Nolan, received seven Academy Awards on March 10, 2024. The three-hour docudrama presents a cast of familiar faces from the world of fine acting who depict a historic time period that forever changed the course of history.
For another historical note by comparison, the first Academy Awards celebration took place at the end of a black-tie banquet on May 16, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. With 270 guests in attendance, the presentation took 15 minutes. Remember, no television back then.
The 2024 Academy Awards ceremony was held in the Dolby Theater in Hollywood with seating for 3,400 individuals. Featured live on TV beginning at 6PM (CT), the annual event touts it attracted 19.5 million viewers.
Original Post, July 22, 2023 / The technological and cinematic abilities of the mind of filmmaker Christopher Nolan are on full display in Oppenheimer, a film that also takes us deep into the mind of J. Robert Oppenheimer, thanks to actor Cillian Murphy.
In Oppenheimer, Murphy brilliantly displays the genius and also the egotistical attitude and drive toward success that were the hallmarks of Oppenheimer, often called the “father of the atomic bomb.” Oppenheimer is relentless and harrowing while driving forward with its true events story, but will it be the blockbuster that we have come to expect from Christopher Nolan?
Oppenheimer starts with Oppenheimer’s early life and his days of schooling and science. Oppenheimer is not a common student. He is bright in the classroom, but he is also focused on his success outside of academics. In school and beyond he is all about science and physics and theories, and his projects have meaning. Oppenheimer’s research gets the attention of higher officials, and eventually he is put in charge of the development of the atomic bomb. Much of the first half of the film focuses on Oppenheimer’s problems developing the atomic bomb. The uncharted territory begins after it appears he has accomplished his goal.
Oppenheimer jumps back and forth between his personal issues and his political affiliations with Jean Lewis Strauss (played by Robert Downey Jr.), who is the United States Secretary of Commerce. The personal issues involve his affair with Jean Tatlock (played by Florence Pugh), and his unfaithfulness to his wife Kitty Oppenheimer (played by Emily Blunt).
Throughout these stressful scenarios, the atomic bomb project continues. US Army Corps of Engineers officer Leslie Groves (played by Matt Damon) is who assigns Oppenheimer the atomic bomb project, and they work together to develop it. This is where the film begins to be stressful. As the project hits plateaus, the screen burns with anxiety. The whole film is really just one haunting and mentally overwhelming thrill ride. It’s like a biographical history on acid.
Nolan’s use of 70 MM projection in Oppenheimer is invigorating and astonishing. His audience will feel they are in Oppenheimer’s world, his mind, and surrounded by the many frustrations that are in his life. This is simply one of the most daring true story films I have seen. But the film also burns with questions. Is Oppenheimer actually a bad guy? Is his development of the bomb a just cause? Will the bomb truly save lives? The creation of the bomb brings many unanswered questions, and it is spellbinding.
No one could play the role of J. Robert Oppenheimer better than Murphy. He delivers a performance showing the power of the man, as well as his brilliance. Murphy is faithful to the seriousness of the topic, and he seems to grasp the force of the film’s heavy theme.
Again, Oppenheimer is invigorating, and it definitely goes deep. It’s pace is in tune with its cinematography for a very dramatic effect. Christopher Nolan direction continues to succeed.
Three and a half stars for Oppenheimer.
