At the time of writing this post I believe the Oppenheimer vs Barbie hype would have died down. Now that was not intentional as I have just been too busy with work and life to write down my quick thoughts on this 3-hr long Christopher Nolan’s film. Nonetheless, I am not going to write a lengthy essay on what the synopsis of film (watch it yourself!) and instead, just do a brief summary of my thoughts on it. And no, Oppenheimer does not leave you leaving the cinema looking like this:
and certainly not like this
but somewhat like this
Yay-point. The film is not (really) about time which means we can comfortably watch it without needing to pay much attention to the timeline of the stories. But for Christopher Nolan fans, you might have noticed that watching his Memento might have subconsciously helped you understand the bfilm a bit better. Well that’s because Noticed ‘much’ was italicised? Well that’s because Nolan, once again, used the colour scenes and black-and-white scenes for different purposes.
Nay-point. The film is just too long! I get that it’s a biographical film and Nolan needs to convey the historical facts of Robert J. Oppenheimer and the beginning of the US-Soviet arms race but being bombarded with physics laws and theories plus names plus historical facts are a huge no-no for ordinary viewers who have no prior knowledge of Oppenheimer’s life.
Hmm-point. There is no lying that there is an awful lot of sex scenes and nudity for a science-fiction film like Oppenheimer. Now I have never been a fan of use of sex and nudity in films and televisions when they are absolutely not necessary for character development and/or plot progression. But in Oppenheimer, I would say at least it is essential to show that Oppenheimer is not a holy saint. Someone (I can’t remember who because the film has just that many amount of characters) claimed that the theoretical physicist was a ‘womaniser‘ and very true enough, he had an ongoing affair with a member of the Communist Party Jean Tatlock while still married with his wife Katherine Puening.
But back to the point, I would say the sex scenes were essential to tear apart Oppenheimer’s character and make us audience doubt him. Before entering the cinema, most if not all viewers should have an idea that Oppenheimer was the brilliant mind behind the atomic bombs. But the scenes served to remind viewers that hey Oppenheimer is not just a genius, but he was a man (or a human) with his flaws (he obviously committed infidelity). And perhaps because of his flaws, he might have accidentally leaked national secrets to the Soviets. Second, the sex scene re-imagined in Katherine’s head where he was being interrogated caused us audience to, together with his wife Kat, be disgusted and even doubtful of Oppenheimer’s character. Why would a pivotal figure in one of the most important projects still have sexual relations with a member of the Communist Party USA? Did he leaked anything to her? Was their relationship purely sexual? Regardless, I am with Cillian Murphy on this controversial sex scenes.
Overall, I did not felt that Oppenheimer was Nolan’s best films and much less the film of the year. It did taught me a thing or two about nuclear fission, physics and reminded me of the tense relations between US-Soviet during the whole McCarthyism period. Could the film be shorter? In my opinion, yes. Did the suspense built up to lead to the plot twist at the end of the story worked? Yes, although I hoped there was more clue given from the start (though the black and white scenes and colour scenes helped in understanding). Would I recommend it? Certainly but don’t expect to be blown away (pun not intended).
Cinematic Frame of Mind 