Christopher Nolan Went NUCLEAR with Oppenheimer!

 Background: Following an unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan, the United States entered the Second World War in 1941. Involving almost every country in the world, there were Axis powers (military coalition)- Germany, Italy and Japan; and the Allies-(international military coalition known as the United Nations) France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union and China. Right from the beginning of American involvement in World War II, President Roosevelt took the lead in building a wartime coalition with Britain and the Soviet Union. It was during World War II that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist is an American scientist who is known for spearheading the creation of this bomb and leading the Manhattan Project in World War II.         

Mostly known for his science fiction movies such as Interstellar, thriller movies such as Inception and war films such as Dunkirk, Nolan has been well experienced in dramatic character studies. Based on Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s biography American Prometheus which was released in 2005, Nolan felt that the movie needed to be personal and intimate, from Oppenheimer’s perspective. Oppenheimer- 2023, a biographical thriller film chronicles the career of Robert Oppenheimer, his early studies, the direction of the Manhattan Project during World War II, early work in Europe, establishing the Los Alamos lab, the creation of the atomic bombs and his eventual fall from grace due to the 1954 security hearing.

 

The film has a stellar cast in the film; Cillian Murphy plays the epic role of Robert Oppenheimer, Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s wife – Kitty Oppenheimer, and Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Straus- former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Matt Damon as Leslie Groves – who was in charge of all Army activities related to the Manhattan Project. The ensemble cast included well-known figures such as Josh Hartnett, Rami Malek, Casey Affleck and Kenneth Branagh.  

 

The soundtrack for the film is composed by Swedish composer Ludvin Goransson who is well-known for having composed music for the Black Panther, the Creed films and the current fanfare for Warner Bros. Pictures; besides scoring many other films. The soundtrack is a violin-heavy epic orchestral soundtrack igniting pain, grief, drama and anxiety. There is silence purposely utilised throughout the score as well. With 24 tracks weaved into the film, there is additional writing by American composer, Thomas Kotcheff, on two tracks – ‘Trinity’ and ‘Something More Important’. It can be described as masterful and mercurial.

 

Shot entirely on Imax 65mm and Panavision 65mm film (which are some of the highest-resolution film cameras), Nolan was also able to create a CGI-free atomic blast. Special Effects Supervisor Scott R. Fisher, who has now worked with Nolan on the director’s previous films including Interstellar and Tenet, let Total Film peek behind the curtain to see how the larger-than-life visuals were created.

“It was definitely not as rigorous with day-to-day filming,” said Fisher. “[Nolan] said, ‘There’s not as much stuff for you on this as the other one, but there’s a couple of things we do have to cover. And that was, of course, the Trinity explosion and some prop builds, and elements of different things that we had throughout the film.”

While Nolan is known for using practical effects, while other films rely on heavy CG to create larger-than-life effects he comments, “I find CG rarely is able to grab you.”   

  

While the film mainly focuses on the creation of the atomic bomb, it also shows how Oppenheimer struggled with the US Intelligence Committee which was led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Adding Admiral Lewis Strauss’s (Robert Downey Jr.) perspective was pivotal to the climax of the film and conveyed layers of nuanced conflict during Oppenheimer’s security clearance hearing. 

 

It is Nolan’s first film to receive an R-rating since Inception in 2002. Besides this, it is also the eighth highest-grossing film of 2023 and the highest-grossing World War II-related film.

 

The film also very interestingly shows Oppenheimer reciting a stanza from the Bhagavad Gita!  

 

Simultaneously having been released with Warner Bros’ movie, Barbie, it led to the Barbenheimer phenomenon on social media, encouraging people to watch both films. 

  

While I quietly nestled in a theatre seat on August 7^th, 2023 to finally watch this film I really appreciated the spectacular visual element of the film and how the scenes transitioned to the next scene. While the story is gripping, it is an excellent film for budding filmmakers. A bit of a drag at three hours, but what is good about the film is that it forces viewers to confront the consequences of destructive technology as well as the duties of scientists.