I Finally Watched Oppenheimer

Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind. For this, he was chained to a stone and tormented for eternity.

This might be the most late I’ve ever been to a party. There isn’t even a party anymore. I’ve just walked into an empty house.

It’s not that I was disinterested in the Barbenheimer hype train when it was still in the station. Back then, I simply couldn’t be bothered to go to a theater for any reason. I was working a shitty job that left me with little free time and even less energy. New movies were very low on my priorities list. So I put both movies on my ‘Maybe One Day’ list and moved on.

‘One Day’ came towards the tail end of September, when I caught a bad case of the flu. Working wasn’t an option, however much my wallet despaired. So, bored and nauseous and in dire need of distraction, I decided it was finally time to become more cultured. I rented ‘Oppenheimer‘ off YouTube, cooked some soup, and hit play.

With how much hype surrounded this film, I fully expected to be disappointed. Christopher Nolan makes good movies, but I’m not the biggest fan of his style. I didn’t doubt it would be good. But surely it couldn’t be that good.

My doubts were dispelled within the first minute. Without even a single line of spoken dialogue, I knew. Now, after watching it twice in as many days, I can say with absolute certainty that ‘Oppenheimer‘ more than lives up to the hype.

For those of you that are also late to cultural media milestones, this film explores the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the mind behind the atomic bomb. Adapted from the book ‘American Prometheus‘ by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, ‘Oppenheimer‘ presents a dramatized version of the physicist’s life before, during, and after the development of the A-Bomb.

All at the same time. Christopher Nolan loves playing with time in his movies, and it works exceptionally well here. Hopping between so many periods in Oppenheimer’s life keeps the pacing smooth and exciting. It takes a lot to make a three-hour movie engaging from start to finish, and I was hooked for every second.

Except for the romantic subplots. Nolan is very good at writing dysfunctional relationships. But in my opinion, he’s not so good at writing them while they’re still… well, functional. The dramatic style of writing works very well in most scenes, but in the romantic ones it comes across as a cheesy soap opera. Luckily, this is only a small part of the film. A single bruise on an otherwise crispy apple.

As a biopic, the movie does a great job of exploring Oppenheimer’s mentality. I can’t speak to it’s historical accuracy, but as a film character, he is exceptionally well-written. He legitimately feels like a different character at every stage in his life. From a troubled young student fascinated by destruction, to a starry-eyed and politically active professor, to a regretful old man traumatized by his own creation. It’s a gripping tale all the way through.

Honestly, I enjoyed this movie the most when no one was talking. That’s not a bash against the dialogue. Rather, it’s a compliment to the visuals and the score. There is some incredible imagery in this movie, ranging from the awe-inspiring to the disturbing. All of which is complimented by a surreal soundtrack and superb audio design.

I love how well this movie builds up to the atomic bomb. It’s given the same kind of build up you’d expect from a horror movie monster. Even when the characters are talking about it, there are intense musical stings that fill you with dread. When the bomb finally goes off, it is a genuine sight to behold. Beautiful and terrible all at the same time.

Equally powerful is the fallout. We don’t need dialogue explaining how horrified Oppenheimer is by his work. We only need to listen in on his head. To the storm of stomping feet, pounding endlessly and furiously. A creative alternative to internal screaming, and just as haunting.

Finally, I have to give the cast their accolades. Every single performance in this movie is incredible. Cillian Murphy makes an incredible lead as Oppenheimer; the fact that he hasn’t gotten more work from this role is insane. Jason Clarke plays a wonderfully detestable antagonist in Roger Robb. Lawyers are inherently punchable, but man, he makes his character exceptionally punchable. Robert Downey Jr. is a consistent scene stealer as Lewis Strauss. Matt Damon does a fantastic job as Leslie Groves; every single scene with this character is solid gold. There’s not a single weak link in the cast.

There’s really not much I can say that hasn’t already been said. The movie is good. Everyone knows it. Even the Academy acknowledged its quality, and I’m pretty sure those guys haven’t watched a film in twenty-five years. Just about the only person who didn’t know was me.

I’m honestly mad at myself for sitting on ‘Oppenheimer‘ this long. This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time, by far. Masterfully crafted, visually creative, expert audio design, amazing music, and some of the best performances Hollywood has to offer. A fantastic film to watch on a sick day.

I guess now I’ll have to watch ‘Barbie‘ next. Complete the dead meme. Gotta do something in this empty house.