Oppenheimer is a historical thriller about the titular physicist. The film opens on Oppenheimer(Cillian Murphy) in a security clearance meeting and then flashes back to his time as a student, jumping back and forth in time also including a confirmation hearing in the further future with Lewis Strauss(Robert Downey Jr.).
Murphy is a compelling performer and its nice to see him in the lead of his own film onscreen for close to the entirety of the runtime. But because of the script and how the film is put together he doesn't have much to do, we are given little insight into Oppenheimer's actual character or motivations or perspective. Murphy's Oppenheimer is mostly a cypher, a blank sheet, which the movie and we the audience project upon. For a film that has the formula of a biopic it seems oddly disinterested in anything beyond bland historical fact leaving little room for nuance. The supporting cast is a cavalcade of talent and stars but most show up only briefly in glorified cameos, why have Dennis Quaid's son in this if he doesn't do anything? It's odd and smacks of a Wes Anderson kind of twee obliviousness. Matt Damon as Leslie Groves is the only one that succeeds in portraying a believable human being. The two female characters played by Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh are astonishingly regressive and are so thinly drawn and function almost solely as furniture it is baffling why they were included at all.
Visually the film is crisp and has scope with a number of really evocative sequences, the Nolan typical droning score isn't oppressive but feels a bit unimaginative at this point. The film is overlong, lacks any kind of coherent focus or message, and has a quick and non-stop style of editing that becomes grating after the first 90 minutes(no shot lasts more than 10-15 seconds).
The film looks great, it feels like an event which is cool and extra points for being an original property. And yet this unfortunately tracks with Nolan's trajectory and displays bad habits he has gotten too big to have anyone involved call him out on. There is no real story to speak of, the scenes play out like flat narration, the non-linear construction serves little purpose, the portrayal of women is terrible, and the lack of POC(despite any pleas of 'historical accuracy') are concerning.
A lot of sizzle, little steak. A disappointment.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
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