Oppenheimer Review: Christopher Nolan Crafts An Unsettling Story Of A Man's Brilliance

The non-fiction book American ‘Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer’ formed the bedrock for the biographical epic.

New Delhi: While striving to stay away from spoilers for Christopher Nolan's latest outing, which has been something of an unceasing discourse for more than a month, I came across a clip of the director reacting to a viral meme. The director responded to the meme that read, "My life is like Christopher Nolan's movie; I don't really understand what's going on." Don't try to understand it, the seasoned director urges, putting it in a few words, just like in his films. “Just feel it,” he says. Those final words kept replaying in my head a few minutes into ‘Oppenheimer’ as Nolan sought those watching to feel every single frame of this biopic, moment by moment. And by no means can you get away from this part of it.

The non-fiction book American ‘Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer’, which Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin wrote, formed the bedrock for the biographical epic, whose story centres on the later years of the "father of the atomic bomb." The fascination among moviegoers, though, has been to see how Nolan's lens looks at the tale of the American physicist, even though they may have heard of the legend's backstory.

This time around, Nolan delivers his trademark gripping narrative, a top-notch ensemble cast led by Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer, and breathtaking cinematography. To zero it down, Murphy's peering eyes and the musical score, which does more than half of the work without the actor uttering a single word, are two of the elements that stand out to hold your undivided focus. Nolan steers clear of telling a conventional story about Oppenheimer's fall from glory, given that he is known for taking atypical paths in his movies. He goes on to switch back and forth between a drawn-out probing session and the colossal moments that came before it.

The opening line of the movie, "Prometheus stole fire from the Gods and gave it to humans, and he was chained to a rock for eternity," uncovers the trials of a bright mind. The Manhattan Project, America's nuclear bomb development programme, acts as a jumping-off point for Nolan's Oppenheimer in the early 1940s. The narrative recounts the theoretical physicist's early pursuits of experimental physics at institutions in Europe through his tenure at Berkeley. Later, we see him indulging in liberal causes, bringing communism into the labs, and having an affair with Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh). After meeting Leslie Groves (Matt Damon), Robert eventually takes over as head of Los Alamos' immensely secret Manhattan Project.

The film briefly touches on several major occurrences in Oppenheimer's life in general, starting in 1954, when he faced a security trial. His very existence is being torn to bits by the US Atomic Energy Commission. The second happened in 1959 at an approval hearing for President Eisenhower's cabinet, when political giant Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.) revealed his conversations with Oppenheimer. Strauss would advocate for the creation of the H-bomb, disregarding the fatalities. And last, the tragic story of the making of the atomic bomb and the harrowing World War II bombings of Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With the last of them, the Trinity Nuclear Test in 1945, the creator shifts the spotlight from the event in history to Oppenheimer's awakening of the potential catastrophe he has unleashed. From this point on, he struggles between morality and duty, questioning what makes up sin and the course in which his efforts will ultimately take future generations.

To say that this is Cillian Murphy's best performance of his career would not be an overstatement. The actor who plays the physicist in the movie captures every tiny character element to portray the lead role just as subtly with a flawless screen presence. Besides Downey Jr., seasoned actors like Florence Pugh, who portrays Jean Tatlock, a strong-willed woman with whom Oppenheimer bonds, and Emily Blunt, who plays Kitty, his disenchanted wife, brilliantly back the main character throughout the course of the movie.

We see a peek into Oppenheimer's tormented mind and rising unease over his choices as the filmmaker masterfully constructs scenes that seem to be dreamlike hallucinations. Each small detail enhances the thrill of watching the movie in that dark room, from the mirage to the applaudatory foot stamping after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And the much anticipated moment, the re-enactment of the first nuclear bomb explosion, which boasts of being carried out without any kind of CGI effects, is worth the wait because it compels you to hold your breath until you hear the gushing roar of the bomb going off. Almost every scene comes with an intensely engrossing edit, all of which is backed by a seamless score. The three-hour running duration leaves you with very little downtime; instead, each dialogue and each shot seem to be worth savouring. Take your time absorbing it, as Nolan probably would have wanted you to.