Christopher Nolan has done it again adding another spectacle to his catalogue. Oppenheimer is masterfully crafted from beginning to end. You can tell it was put together with a lot of blood, sweat and tears.
The film follows Oppenheimer’s life and his journey to invented the Atomic bomb which was used in Japan which resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Japan are still suffering with the effects of it today. The film questions the morality of the bomb, the arms race, war, Oppenheimer’s choices and more.
The most impressive feature in the whole film is the editing and sound design which complements the well told story of the father of the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer is edited like a 3 hour trailer containing various sound effects, cutaways with visual effect imagery of a bomb exploding and black and white scenes. Due to the engaging and fast paced editing, the 3 hours seemingly flies by. It creates more drama and tension. One scene in particular which stood out to me was Oppenheimer’s speech in the gymnasium after the atomic bomb was dropped in Japan. The attendees would applaud and stamp their feet on Oppenheimer’s arrival. Those same sounds were used throughout the film before that scene to build dramatic tension; even a close up of the audience stamping their feet was used during one scene.
As the film was shot using IMAX camera, to say the film looks stunning is an understatement. The beautiful visuals captures the vast landscapes of New Mexico and more, the fantastic performances of the cast especially of Cillian Murphy who portrays Oppenheimer and Robert Downey Jr. who plays Lewis Strauss. But the biggest achievement was capturing the atomic bomb explosive which was recreated with practical effects rather than visual effects.
I really appreciate the final hour of the film as it digs into the aftermath of the atomic bomb being dropped and how Oppenheimer life changed after that.
I do believe this is one of Nolan’s finest in storytelling and direction. It makes us question the morality of Oppenheimer’s decision to invent a creation that changed the world forever inviting severe consequences in life and death that generations after us will suffer from.
10/10
Written by P Rose