Science, politics collide in Christopher Nolan's riveting 'Oppenheimer'

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Oppenheimer
4 out of 5 Stars
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Christopher Nolan, Kai Bird, Martin Sherwin
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Rated: R for some sexuality, nudity and language

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) – Studio Synopsis: Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is an IMAX-shot epic thriller that thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it.

The film stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Emily Blunt as his wife, biologist and botanist Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer. Oscar winner Matt Damon portrays General Leslie Groves Jr., director of the Manhattan Project, and Robert Downey, Jr. plays Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

Review: There is a calculated and cold distance in Cillian Murphy’s performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer that permeates throughout director and writer Christopher Nolan’s biopic about the famed scientist who led the development of the atomic bomb. I don’t know if this presentation of Oppenheimer is accurate, and some would suggest that Nolan’s films too frequently emphasize intellect over emotion, but for the purpose of this narrative the choice is both believable and effective.

I haven’t read the source material, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, but Nolan’s film certainly leans into the Prometheus aspect of the biography’s title. Oppenheimer is the modern approximation of a Greek god. He is a man of considerable knowledge and power who stumbles on his own hubris. And, like most of the inhabitants of Mt. Olympus, Oppenheimer also falls prey to the appetite of his libido. His arrogance promotes and undermines him in equal measures.

I’m fond of the way that Nolan uses flashes of light, seemingly abstract and apocalyptic imagery to give audiences a visual glimpse into the obsessive aspects of Oppenheimer’s mind. Haunted by unanswered theory, Oppenheimer becomes increasingly gaunt as the story progresses. Finding answers accelerates his physical decline.

Murphy’s performance exists in a small, confined space. To compensate, the characters that surround Oppenheimer are archetypes who allowed a wider range of emotion and personality. Robert Downey Jr.’s Lewis Strauss oozes privilege. Jason Clarke’s Roger Robb’s is a schoolyard bully. Matt Damon’s Leslie Groves flashes a smile while he skirts around rules and policy. They are all playing the long game.

In the 1940s the political, scientific, military, and academic arenas weren’t a place woman were allowed to excel. As a result, there aren’t many prominent parts for women. That said, Emily Blunt’s performance as Kitty Oppenheimer, Robert’s wife, is one of my favorite parts of the film. She steals scenes with ease. Florence Pugh isn’t given nearly as much to do as Jean Tatlock, a lover with communist ties, but manages to make an impression.

The structure of the film is somewhat unusual in that the first two acts are essentially the biopic that you’d expect, and the third act feels more like a political thriller where the backroom politics are pushed out into the living room. Everyone watches as skeletons fall out of closets.

The film runs three hours and still feels a little incomplete with some details rushed over. It’s a small complaint. “Oppenheimer” does a fantastic job of showing a man divided between contradictory beliefs. A man who wants to dictate a future he has no power to control.