Oppenheimer

One of the most intense movies ever made. Some might think that’s bad, but to me it just makes Oppenheimer one of the best cinematic experiences of all time (careful not to mistake this statement for “Oppenheimer is one of the best movies of all time”). Ludwig Göransson’s score nearly fills the film’s full runtime, elevating it to a whole new level of thrill and adrenaline – trust me, Nolan’s target audience does not include the faint of heart. The rush of the Trinity test sequence… My GOD, probably one of my favorite scenes ever. It did however seem like the culmination of the film, so it lost a little of its pace and direction in the third act (rewatch update: I felt this way because I was absolutely sure the movie would end with Trinity, and upon rewatch with adjusted expectations, the feeling does not remain), but the Lewis Strauss scandal ended up being very much welcome to the story once it was concluded. Speaking of conclusion, what a powerful ending. Now, onto the cast – everyone is brilliant. Cillian Murphy excels with a very steady performance, although one deprived of the big outbursts of emotion you often see in movies aiming for acting awards nominations. Robert Downey Jr. falls into that same category for most of the movie, but by the ending finally displays a more dramatic potency when he talks about Oppenheimer’s want for attention and glory, and Emily Blunt delivers what might be her best performance, with such a presence that she leaves the viewer under the impression of appearing in the movie for a great part of it, not mere 15 minutes. Hard to beat her A Quiet Place delivery scene, and I am also a sucker for her Freya (The Huntsman: Winter’s War), but she is so powerful as Kitty Oppenheimer that a strong argument can be made, especially in the second half of the movie. Other cast members do not stand out as much, but that is just due to their lack of screentime. Florence Pugh, Kenneth Brannagh, Rami Malek and Tom Conti are worth noting, and Matt Damon as well for finally managing to not annoy me at all in a role of his. As for Nolan, I praise him for his script. Not his best, of course, hard to surpass Inception, but it still required a lot of skill to get such a dense story in a single film and in a relatively understandable way. Most would make a mess out of the abundance of characters, but Nolan knows better. Moreover, it’s impressive how he manages to make the audience wholly forget about the fact that Oppenheimer is a 3 hour historical drama. It is not perfect, and falters a bit to reach its conclusion (the loss of pace after the Trinity test I mentioned), but thankfully, even there it is smoothly driven forward by its perfect cast, score and the amazing work of all other departments that make Oppenheimer a technical marvel. Its 180 minutes make up for a tiring movie, but a larger than life experience – a must.