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OPPENHEIMER
Well, this damn near took the top of my head off! I was definitely impressed with this biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, which specifically focuses on his involvement with the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb, as well as its aftermath. I went to see the IMAX presentation of this at my local theater, and quite frankly I'm a bit overwhelmed.
First of all, I must admit I've kind of felt rather ambivalent about Christopher Nolan's films over the years, ever since I first saw 2000's Memento. I definitely admire Nolan as a filmmaker a great deal. His movies definitely have a sense of ambition and scope, and they almost always pack an emotional punch. Plus, he always gets great performances out of his actors. That's a good number of "classic filmmaking qualification" boxes ticked off. So why is it that Nolan's work so often leaves me a bit cold? I must admit, I don't really know and I can't give a satisfactory answer. Perhaps his oeuvre is just a little "too perfect" for me (if that makes any sense whatsoever). Perhaps there's something dauntingly impermeable about his movies, in the sense that "they are what they are" and I don't always feel that I have a way "into" them or can find any personal resonance beyond what they were intended to be. Am I talking gibberish here? Perhaps...
How will I feel about Oppenheimer in five years' time? Granted, none of us can really answer a question like that. But what I can say is that this was a cinematic experience like no other, and Oppenheimer definitely earns for itself a slot in the pantheon of cinematic all-timers. Which slot? I can't really say. But I'm not liable to forget this one for a while, if at all.
Kudos go to Nolan and actor Cillian Murphy for creating a genuinely unnerving portrait of the title character. There's something about Murphy's Oppenheimer that genuinely inspires audience sympathy and puts one's teeth on edge just a tad. This brilliant man, torn between his abstracted sense of overview and the pangs of his conscience, seems to have a slightly psychopathic edge to him. (And I'm not just talking about the time he made an aborted attempt to poison a professor during his student years!) But he seems a perfectly sane paragon of ethics when compared to his nemesis Lewis Strauss, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. as twitchily paranoid with a sense of entitlement, repressed rage, a very long memory and the capacity to hold a grudge like nobody's business. I also loved the performance of Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves, who brings Oppenheimer onto the Manhattan Project, isn't entirely trusting of Oppenheimer but grows to respect him. Emily Blunt is very effective as Kitty Oppenheimer, and brings her own sort of neurotic energy to the role which is quite ideally matched with Murphy's.
Quite the experience all around, and one that strengthens my resolve to renew my commitment to seeing more movies on the big screen. (Going to an actual movie theater is an activity that I've slacked off on quite a bit over the past decade or so.)
OPPENHEIMER
Well, this damn near took the top of my head off! I was definitely impressed with this biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, which specifically focuses on his involvement with the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb, as well as its aftermath. I went to see the IMAX presentation of this at my local theater, and quite frankly I'm a bit overwhelmed.
First of all, I must admit I've kind of felt rather ambivalent about Christopher Nolan's films over the years, ever since I first saw 2000's Memento. I definitely admire Nolan as a filmmaker a great deal. His movies definitely have a sense of ambition and scope, and they almost always pack an emotional punch. Plus, he always gets great performances out of his actors. That's a good number of "classic filmmaking qualification" boxes ticked off. So why is it that Nolan's work so often leaves me a bit cold? I must admit, I don't really know and I can't give a satisfactory answer. Perhaps his oeuvre is just a little "too perfect" for me (if that makes any sense whatsoever). Perhaps there's something dauntingly impermeable about his movies, in the sense that "they are what they are" and I don't always feel that I have a way "into" them or can find any personal resonance beyond what they were intended to be. Am I talking gibberish here? Perhaps...
How will I feel about Oppenheimer in five years' time? Granted, none of us can really answer a question like that. But what I can say is that this was a cinematic experience like no other, and Oppenheimer definitely earns for itself a slot in the pantheon of cinematic all-timers. Which slot? I can't really say. But I'm not liable to forget this one for a while, if at all.
Kudos go to Nolan and actor Cillian Murphy for creating a genuinely unnerving portrait of the title character. There's something about Murphy's Oppenheimer that genuinely inspires audience sympathy and puts one's teeth on edge just a tad. This brilliant man, torn between his abstracted sense of overview and the pangs of his conscience, seems to have a slightly psychopathic edge to him. (And I'm not just talking about the time he made an aborted attempt to poison a professor during his student years!) But he seems a perfectly sane paragon of ethics when compared to his nemesis Lewis Strauss, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. as twitchily paranoid with a sense of entitlement, repressed rage, a very long memory and the capacity to hold a grudge like nobody's business. I also loved the performance of Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves, who brings Oppenheimer onto the Manhattan Project, isn't entirely trusting of Oppenheimer but grows to respect him. Emily Blunt is very effective as Kitty Oppenheimer, and brings her own sort of neurotic energy to the role which is quite ideally matched with Murphy's.
Quite the experience all around, and one that strengthens my resolve to renew my commitment to seeing more movies on the big screen. (Going to an actual movie theater is an activity that I've slacked off on quite a bit over the past decade or so.)