Film Review: ‘Oppenheimer’

Mark Jackson
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Who would have thought a three-hour biopic (with thriller intent) about atomic physics would turn out to be 2023’s summer blockbuster? A blockbuster for adults. You’ll be on the edge of your seat the entire time because here, finally, is pithy, challenging, exciting, mind-expanding, engrossing, quality educational cinema at its best.

The film opens with a reminder that the new-universe Greek gods punished Prometheus, a god from the previous universe, by chaining him to a rock for all eternity. He was sentenced to having his continually regrowing liver ripped out daily by birds of prey. Why? Because he’d given the forbidden gift of fire to humankind.

Julius Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) inspects a test-run atomic bomb, in "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures)
Julius Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) inspects a test-run atomic bomb, in "Oppenheimer." Universal Pictures
Julius Robert Oppenheimer gave humankind the atomic bomb—enough firepower to destroy the entire planet many times over. This thriller-biopic leads from Oppenheimer’s student days up to his emotional confession of devastating guilt before President Truman, who dismissed him from the Oval Office with the parting shot of “Don’t let that crybaby back in here!”

‘Oppenheimer’

Native New Yorker J.R. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) studied quantum mechanics at England’s Cambridge University. (Quantum wasn’t being taught in America yet.) There, he was encouraged by rock star Danish physicist Niels Bohr (Kenneth Branagh) to ditch lab work and head to Germany’s University of Göttingen in 1926 and really let his mind expand.

Oppenheimer’s British professor scoffs at the suggestion, saying that Oppenheimer’s math isn’t up to par. Bohr counters by saying that math is to physics what reading music is to musicians—the important thing is to be able to hear the music in one’s head. Can Oppenheimer hear the music? He can.

His research and reputation soon get him the job of heading up University of California–Berkeley’s theoretical physics program, where, as one of those geniuses whose brilliance is close to madness, his sanity is threatened by haunting astrophysicist visions of stars collapsing into black holes and the mind-boggling size of the cosmos. At the urging of his sometimes mistress (Florence Pugh), he also starts attending labor party meetings and taking a prolonged whiff of communism.

Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh) and J.R. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) have an affair, in "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures)
Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh) and J.R. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) have an affair, in "Oppenheimer." Universal Pictures

If  You Build It, America Wins

With a mandate from Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves (Matt Damon), Oppenheimer directs the famed Manhattan Project nuclear weapon program for the United States.
(L–R, front) J.R. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), Enrico Fermi (Danny Deferrari), Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves (Matt Damon), and Kenneth Nichols (Dane DeHaan) in the town built specifically for the development of the atomic bomb, in "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures)
(L–R, front) J.R. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), Enrico Fermi (Danny Deferrari), Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves (Matt Damon), and Kenneth Nichols (Dane DeHaan) in the town built specifically for the development of the atomic bomb, in "Oppenheimer." Universal Pictures

The fruit of his labors eventually levels the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending World War II, which begets Oppenheimer international fame, whereupon he seeks to turn his involvement into a platform urging nuclear armistice. The revoking of his security clearance as a U.S. Energy Commission adviser crushes his drive and activism.

Physicist J.R. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) celebrated as a war hero, in "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures)
Physicist J.R. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) celebrated as a war hero, in "Oppenheimer." Universal Pictures

Inventing the atomic bomb and then campaigning against nuclear weapons appears to have been the all-time best example of trying to “close the barn door after the cow got out.” One imagines that had Oppenheimer been born later, he might have heeded “Jurassic Park” character Ian Malcolm’s warning: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” But since it’s highly probable that that very line is based on Oppenheimer himself, that’s too much silly “Back to the Future” chicken-or-egg conjecture to contemplate.

J.R. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) views the atomic explosion, in "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures)
J.R. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) views the atomic explosion, in "Oppenheimer." Universal Pictures
But the fact of the matter is, Oppenheimer was already worried about using a weapon of mass destruction. It was his keen realization that the Nazis wouldn’t hesitate to nuke the Jewish people living in America that drove him—along with the knowledge that the Russians could easily beat America to the punch and create a nuke first—which ultimately drowned out his doubts.

Other Story Lines

Nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence (Josh Hartnett) always challenges Oppenheimer on the concept that theoretical science can only go so far, in "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures)
Nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence (Josh Hartnett) always challenges Oppenheimer on the concept that theoretical science can only go so far, in "Oppenheimer." Universal Pictures

Based on Martin J. Sherwin and Kai Bird’s 2005 biography, “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s film is basically a lot of procedural scenes containing brilliant-minded men talking, such as theoretical physicist Edward Teller (Bennie Safdie) and nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence (Josh Hartnett), and of course Albert Einstein (Tom Conti).

Two of history's greatest physicists, Albert Einstein (Tom Conti, L) and J.R. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) talk shop, in "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures)
Two of history's greatest physicists, Albert Einstein (Tom Conti, L) and J.R. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) talk shop, in "Oppenheimer." Universal Pictures
Running alongside the main narrative is one of Robert Downey Jr.’s better performances as Rear Adm. Lewis Strauss. Strauss’s much-publicized 1959 Senate confirmation hearing and his morbid jealousy of Oppenheimer lends the film some of its finest scenes. (To differentiate this storyline, these scenes are shot in grainy black-and-white.)
Rear Adm. Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr., front C) at a Senate confirmation hearing, in "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures)
Rear Adm. Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr., front C) at a Senate confirmation hearing, in "Oppenheimer." Universal Pictures

Another related timeline involves, as mentioned, Oppenheimer’s 1954 security clearance hearing—a kangaroo court intended to railroad Oppenheimer—via a committee spearheaded by predatory special counsel Roger Robb (Jason Clarke).

Special counsel Roger Robb (Jason Clarke, front C) grills J.R. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy, off-screen) about his communist leanings, in "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures)
Special counsel Roger Robb (Jason Clarke, front C) grills J.R. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy, off-screen) about his communist leanings, in "Oppenheimer." Universal Pictures
The women in the picture, underutilized yet mesmerizing, include Florence Pugh as free-spirited, communist psychiatrist and Oppenheimer’s lover, Jean Tatlock; and Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s Bay Area socialite wife, Kitty, who later comes to her husband’s defense and gives special counsel Robb more than he bargained for.
J.R. Oppenheimer's wife, Kitty (Emily Blunt), and her husband (Cillian Murphy) during his security clearance hearing, in "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures)
J.R. Oppenheimer's wife, Kitty (Emily Blunt), and her husband (Cillian Murphy) during his security clearance hearing, in "Oppenheimer." Universal Pictures
A choice was clearly made not to try and depict existing photos of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that followed the actual bombing. A good thing, too; I’ve read the accounts of the “ant-walking alligator people.” I’d prefer not to have that particular visual scorching my retinas.
Approximately 199,000 people were injured or died from the bombs ordered by President Harry S. Truman (Gary Oldman), who didn’t have a problem with taking full credit. The aftermath ignited the Cold War with Russia and the subsequent Red Scare, which was Oppenheimer’s undoing.

In a film featuring advanced math and theoretical sciences, most of the moviegoing public won’t understand the minutiae, but Nolan demonstrates that good storytelling trumps the details.

I found “Oppenheimer” to ultimately underline with vehemence the philosophical concept that mind and matter are the same. Out of mere mathematical scribbles and hieroglyphs on paper, concerning things that the human eye cannot perceive let alone prove, evolved the titanic power to incinerate 199,000 humans. Thoughts are supremely powerful, and when they manifest tangibly in the world, like this, in forms such as beyond-deadly atomic and hydrogen bombs, it’s usually a sign that humans have somewhere along the line cast out the divine.

Movie poster for "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures)
Movie poster for "Oppenheimer." Universal Pictures
‘Oppenheimer’ Directors: Christopher Nolan Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Gary Oldman, Casey Affleck, Kenneth Branagh, Josh Hartnett, Rami Malek, Dane DeHaan, Matthew Modine, Alex Wolff, Jason Clarke, Tony Goldwyn MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 3 hours Release Date: July 21, 2023 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Mark Jackson
Mark Jackson
Film Critic
Mark Jackson is the chief film critic for The Epoch Times. In addition to the world’s number-one storytelling vehicle—film, he enjoys martial arts, weightlifting, motorcycles, vision questing, rock-climbing, qigong, oil painting, and human rights activism. Jackson earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Williams College, followed by a classical theater training, and has 20 years’ experience as a New York professional actor, working in theater, commercials, and television daytime dramas. He narrated The Epoch Times audiobook “How the Specter of Communism is Ruling Our World,” which is available on iTunes and Audible. Jackson is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
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