Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Scott Grimes, Jason Clarke, Florence Pugh, Dane DeHaan, Kurt Koehler, Tony Goldwyn, John Gowans, Macon Blair, James D’Arcy, Kenneth Branagh, Harry Groener, Gregory Jbara, Ted King, Tim DeKay, Steven Houska, Tom Conti, David Krumholtz, Matthais Schweighöfer, Josh Hartnett, Alex Wolff, Josh Zuckerman, Rami Malek, Gary Oldman, Hap Lawrence, Matthew Modine, Louise Lombard, Matt Damon, Jack Quaid, David Dastmaichian.
A film of greatness will divide public opinion, a film that frames an instant in time that defined all that surrounded it will be lauded by many, and seized upon by others as proof of a system designed to make us care deeply about a subject that should be swept under the carpet, only raised to bash, and threaten with silence when the needs must.
Oppenheimer, the man and the film, one pushed to the edge of national disgrace in his lifetime, and redeemed because of truth, and its 21st Century cinematic counterpart that truly gets underneath the skin of the infamy, and the conviction, the sense of urgency, and the downright untasteful betrayal of a man who had the sense of history weigh heavily upon his shoulders even before the first tentative steps into delivering a weapon of such magnitude that it has seared itself into the everlasting zeitgeist of generations that have lived in its own self-proclaimed age.
Christopher Nolan’s in-depth epic film, Oppenheimer does not seek to excuse the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it does offer an insight into the mind at the moment of realisation of what he created, and then the suffering of those caught in its wake.
History’s fickle judgement driven by the jealousy and suspicion of what can only be described as lesser men, made sure that it was only after his death that his sacrifices, that of himself, his team, and the innocent Japanese civilians, are remembered with less harsher tones, especially as the film goes to great lengths to highlight, it was a different breed of man that ultimately decided history’s outcome, Julius Robert Oppenheimer was the one who struck the match, who watched it burn, not the one who revelled in the power of its destruction.
An epic film deserves a cast who understand exactly what they are passing on to the audience, and with terrific, albeit almost walk on performances, by the likes of Gary Oldman who portrayed the disgraceful attitude of President Truman with an alarming truth, Dane DeHaan as Kenneth Nichols, Alden Ehrenreich as the unnamed aide, and Kenneth Branagh as the eminent Niels Bohr, the scene is set for what transpires, what is an explosive trio of argument and resentment, of lies and patient hatred, and in Cillian Murphy, a resurgent Robert Downey Jr., and a stunning execution of will by Jason Clarke in the role of the McCarthy-like acolyte Roger Robb, the bomb is not the only fall out to contend with, it is freedom of political belief that pushes the narrative forward.
Oppenheimer, for its sheer guts alone, will stand in time up against some of the finest films created, and indeed if not seen as a technical, ferocious beast that catches the heart as it beats faster with the pressurised build up and explosive, dramatic finale, then to cast it in shadow will be a travesty, for history’s sake, this is arguably the pinnacle of 21st Century cinema so far.
This is not a reflection of a time caught in a moment, this is a truth that we are living under the threat of today, one which we are close to reliving because we did not listen to one man’s spark of humanity.
Ian D. Hall