Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan’s brings to the screen the story of J.Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy plays Oppenheimer, we follow his life from theoretical physicist, to the man who leads the team that develops the atom bomb and ends up wrestling with his conscience, battling with a past and a political game that threatens to undermine his life. It’s a sprawling story that focuses on his work and those with the biggest impact on his life his wife Kitty (Emily Blunt), his lover, Jean (Florence Pugh), Leslie Groves (Matt Damon) and Lewis Strauss(Robert Downey Jr.).

Oppenheimer is a complex man, with a complicated life and bringing that to the screen in a big budget epic, while remaining intriguing and engaging is no small challenge. But if you could trust a filmmaker with it, it’s Nolan and he proves it with this compelling, sprawling 3 hour epic.

Told using three distinct timelines, we see Oppenheimer Idealistic in his science and politics to leading the team that developed the atom bomb. We see him after the war, his conscience and background haunting him and putting in danger his life’s work. We also have the story of Lewis Strauss, whose life is intertwined with post war Oppenheimer. All three separate but skillfully intertwined.

At the heart of what makes this work is Murphy’s portrait of Oppenheimer. Who takes us through the journey of a man from Idealist, to driven scientist, to one wrestling with his conscience. it’s an excellent performance that keeps fully you engaged throughout. While he’s well supported Murphy is its beating heart.

As always with Nolan the film is technically smart. It looks great, has a fabulous score and ingenious use of sound, especially when carrying out the Los Alamos tests.

This is how to bring epic stories to the screen. It weaves together its three timelines, juggling science, politics, revenge and conscience in a big budget cinema epic. While it’s long. It’s never dull and Cillian Murphy’s performance keeps you engaged throughout. It’s an impressive film about a story that changed history.