This is my video essay on the movie Oppenheimer because while I love Christopher Nolan, I did not love this film. Instead of a narrative focused on the interesting progression of science that led up to the development of the atomic bomb, we’re given a series of scenes of people talking intensely in rooms from 3 different timelines.
Each timeline muddles the narrative, and by choosing to do so, it feels like the story is constantly being interrupted and shifts the focus of what this film wants to be.
Is it about the science? Is it about Oppenheimer? Or is it about Strauss’s vindictive revenge? Or is it about the fear of communism and ensuing governmental witch hunts?
That’s the crux of the issue: Oppenheimer doesn’t know what it wants to be.
This is my video exploring those ideas and questions.
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What is Oppenheimer?
Oppenheimer is a 2023 biographical drama film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the film chronicles the life of American theoretical physicist and polymath J. Robert Oppenheimer. The story predominantly focuses on Oppenheimer's early studies, his direction of the Manhattan Project during World War II, and his eventual fall from grace due to his 1954 security hearing; juxtaposed with this are events surrounding Oppenheimer's relationship with Lewis Strauss, a senior member of the United States Atomic Energy Commission who sees Oppenheimer as a rival. It stars Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer and Robert Downey Jr. as Strauss, with the remaining ensemble supporting cast including Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek and Kenneth Branagh.
The film was announced in September 2021 after Universal Pictures won a bidding war for Nolan's screenplay, following Nolan's conflict with longtime distributor Warner Bros. Pictures. Murphy was the first cast member to be signed on, to portray Oppenheimer in October, with others in the main cast joining between November 2021 and April 2022. Pre-production was underway by January 2022, with filming taking place from February to May. Oppenheimer was filmed in a combination of IMAX 65 mm and 65 mm large-format film, including, for the first time in history, sections in IMAX black-and-white film photography. It is Nolan's first film to receive R-rating since Insomnia (2002). Like his previous works, Nolan used extensive practical effects and minimal computer-generated imagery.
Oppenheimer premiered at Le Grand Rex in Paris on July 11, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States and United Kingdom on July 21, 2023, by Universal Pictures. Its simultaneous release with Warner Bros.' Barbie led to the "Barbenheimer" phenomenon on social media, which encouraged audiences to see both films as a double feature. The film has grossed over $412 million worldwide on a $100 million production budget and received critical acclaim, with particular praise for its cast, screenplay, and visuals.
Oppenheimer is the first script written by Christopher Nolan in the first person, as he wanted the narrative to be conveyed from Oppenheimer's perspective. He described the "texture" of the film being "how the personal interacts with the historic and the geopolitical" with the intention of making it a cautionary tale. He had begun writing the script after he had finished Tenet and wrote it in only a few months; he had already been thinking about making a film about Oppenheimer for over 20 years. A major plot element is Oppenheimer's response to the long-term consequences of his actions. Nolan wished to explore the phenomenon of delayed reactions, as he felt people are not "necessarily confronted with the strongest or worst elements of [their actions] in the moment". He also chose to alternate between scenes in color and black-and-white to convey the story from both subjective and objective perspectives, respectively, with most of Oppenheimer's view shown via the former, while the latter depicts a "more objective view of his story from a different character's point of view".
And if you’re still reading this - hello.
This video is made through Fair Use under copyright law for the purposes of education in criticism or review; as well as parody or satire.
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