Oppenheimer (2023)

I knew my dad and I would have to see this while it was still in theaters. Not only is it popular, but it loses something on a smaller screen. Not that nuclear explosions, "real" or imagined, make up much of the three hours.

The story covers the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) from his doctoral student days in 1926 to his receipt of the Enrico Fermi Award in '63. His key work on the Manhattan Project and reactions to its aftermath tend to dominate the focus, but there's more to it than that. He hangs out with communists too much for the comfort of authorities, and two party members, eventual wife Kitty Puening (Emily Blunt) and codependent Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh), become his love interests.

You know how director Christopher Nolan likes his nonlinear tellings? This one establishes early on that the main arc is interspersed with flash-forwards to two hearings: one in 1954 by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to determine whether Oppenheimer should keep his security clearance and one in 1958 by the U.S. Senate to determine whether commission member Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.), who sided against him, should become Secretary of Commerce. I actually had an easier time keeping track of this film than any other Nolan work, partly because the '58 scenes are in black and white and partly because Oppenheimer noticeably ages. That said, my dad had some trouble making out words, as often happens with Nolan.

At no point did either of us check the time of day. As long as the runtime is, things move at a good clip, if mostly in dialog, with time jumps helping to avoid tedium. Oppenheimer himself is a piece of work, a geeky, socially troubled hero right up there with Alan Turing. Murphy does such a good job that maybe someone besides Nolan will hire him again. Downey is nearly unrecognizable, demonstrating his talent. Matt Damon as project director General Leslie Groves...well, he puts in a valiant effort, but it's hard not to see him as Damon.

I still like the bomb test best. Never before had I given much thought to the kind of nerves those guys needed to try out a weapon of that caliber. They weren't completely certain that the blast would stop before covering the world. And the visual effect would be beautiful if it weren't so scary.

For all our admiration, Dad rightly noted that my mom wouldn't have wanted to come. There isn't much for female characters to do, apart from ensuring an R rating with nudity. And even when Nolan tells a true story, he has to include a dead wife or girlfriend.

Sources tell me that the movie is quite faithful to history. As such, it taught me a few things that had never come up in my lessons, such as the reason for Los Alamos existing.

This might just be the first Best Picture winner for Nolan. There really isn't much I could suggest that would clearly improve on it.