Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan)

ShaneU · 22-07-2023 1:16am

Told my mother I wanted to go see this and found out my great great grandmother's surname was Oppenheimer!

shrewdness · 22-07-2023 1:21am

Not exactly a barrel of laughs alright, but I found it riveting. Some thought it very long but I didn't find the 3 hrs go by tbh. Would definitely benefit by a rewatch with more of an idea of who is who etc when they're doing the cross-examining. Last hour seems to be fairly divisive but I rather enjoyed it tbh. Obviously it wouldn't have been a surprise to anyone familiar with the subject matter, but the "reveal" of it being Strauss that was the one behind the attempt to bring down Oppenheimer was a surprise to us anyway.

The performances across the board were fantastic, but especially Murphy and RDJ, would imagine they'll be in the mix come Oscar season. Blunt very good in the 2nd half also.

That ending would put a chill down your spine, sticks with you for a while.

Big Gerry · 22-07-2023 1:30am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120881582#Comment_120881582

The Dark Knight Rises felt like a very long film for me which is almost 3 hours.

I can't think of any film that needs to be more than 2 and half hours long.

Cpxxc · 22-07-2023 2:30am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120881673#Comment_120881673

Thanks for ruining it! 🤣 My whole family is going to see it on Sunday.

My 16 Year old is using his birthday voucher to book it. I didn't know he was interested. My wife is asking me what's the story, my youngest is interested in the popcorn.

I obviously know the story and will enjoy it.

It's amazing how suddenly it's relevant.

I always had difficulty trying to explain to post cold war people how nuclear annihilation hung over us 70s and 80s kids.

Now they'll know and arguably it's more dangerous now.

For me it's almost nostalgia. But the CCCP was scary but organised. Russia is a rogue unstable terrorist state led by a fascist Dictator.

WIth nuclear weapons.

corcaigh07 · 22-07-2023 4:01am

Just back for 70mm IMAX showing in BFI, the hype is deserved.

Shelga · 22-07-2023 7:33am

So on 70mm vs 35mm, it means you are seeing more of the action in the shot? It’s higher and wider? Every time a Nolan film comes out, I look at the YouTube videos of The Dark Knight showing 70mm vs 35mm, definite difference alright.

If the director has shot in 70mm, it’s like the shot has to be chopped at the edges, both tops and sides, to be shown in most cinemas?

I don’t think I’ll make the IFI as it’s all sold out, and I’m off on holiday on Monday. Are the iSense screens at Odeon cinemas just big screens, basically? Nothing too special by the sounds of it.

Akrasia · 22-07-2023 8:53am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120881567#Comment_120881567

There was a climax and then another hour of courtroom drama. I want to watch it again but will wait till it's on streaming

Brief_Lives · 22-07-2023 9:31am

Going to it tonight. Oppenheimer was part of one of my modules in College. Very excited to see him come alive through Cillian.

corcaigh07 · 22-07-2023 11:14am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120881818#Comment_120881818

Johnny Ultimate has the perfect post on the format differences on page 7.

35mm and 70mm in Irish cinemas, not a big difference bar image quality should be significantly better in 70mm and slight difference in aspect ratio, both widescreen and cropped.

Citizen Six · 22-07-2023 1:37pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120879108#Comment_120879108

There’s no other horses in the same race as IMAX though, is there? It’s a standalone format.

Snake Plisken · 22-07-2023 1:53pm

Just back from seeing it and was worried it would be another Dunkirk but no it is absolutely riveting and a fantastic watch, Cillian should be a nailed on Oscar for his performance. Fantastic supporting cast Robert Downey & Matt Damon are great. Btw I went into this without knowing much about the back story. So a solid 10 of 10 for me, not sure what Nolan does next maybe he will get to do Bond who knows.

One regret is I'm sorry I didn't see it on w bigger screen as Screen 6 in Vue was ok but not the best

Man Vs ManUre · 22-07-2023 2:46pm

For me the greatest movie ever made is ‘there will be blood’ and it has the greatest acting performance ever. How does this film and Cillian Murphy compare??

accensi0n · 22-07-2023 2:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120883012#Comment_120883012

Better

Man Vs ManUre · 22-07-2023 2:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120883035#Comment_120883035

I doubt that.

accensi0n · 22-07-2023 3:08pm

Cool

Snake Plisken · 22-07-2023 3:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120883012#Comment_120883012

There will be blood isn't even PT Anderson's best work that would be Magnolia or Boogie Nights in my opinion. As for Day Lewis he really hammed it up in that movie and I didn't like it.

So I clearly prefer this and think Cillian carries the movie with his acting a lot of which is down with his eyes and facial expressions you can tell what he is thinking or feeling without speaking.

But we all have our favourites so respect that There will be blood is your favourite.

johnny_ultimate · 22-07-2023 4:10pm

I find it hard to go back to some of Nolan's previous films these days, as I find some of his filmmaking quirks - particularly his propulsive editing style and fondness for brute-force loudness - to be frustrating and even exhausting. I think Dunkirk addressed some of that with its temporal trickery, but Tenet - perhaps his worst film for a plethora of reasons - was maybe the worst offender yet.

Which is important context, as I think it's exactly that particular style - flaws and all - that makes Oppenheimer work. Indeed, a time-hopping biopic is if anything the perfect fit for Nolan's restless storytelling style. Here, it drives forward and jumps from scene to scene with relentless forward momentum, only really slowing down for some killer extended scenes where everything comes together or simmering tension is allowed to boil over and erupt. Matched with the clever choice to switch between black & white and colour to illustrate the film's two key perspectives, this feels like Nolan turning what has been a filmmaking weakness of his into a strength. The sparing use of expressionistic effects shot is also very well done - beautiful images often staying on screen for just a second as a note of emphasis or warning.

Ditto his tendency to 'go loud'. This is another film seemingly designed to blow the speakers off, but it does so in a much more elegant way. The dialogue is suitably snappy and speedy, the ideas allowed to overwhelm and overlap. Göransson's soundtrack builds and builds and builds, only for Nolan to suddenly drain sequences of sound completely. The interplay between noise and silence is tremendously well done, and a reminder that good cinematic sound design is often defined by restrained use of total quiet. Oh, and the recurring use of foot-stomping, building up to maybe the film's best scene, is magnificent.

The film is admirably blunt about the moral contradictions of the story: this is not afraid to call out the unspeakable evil that is the use of the nuclear bomb (the film's biggest villain is almost certainly Harry S Truman), while also embracing the rush of scientific discovery and accomplishment. Of course, the film ultimately is very much in the 'existential dread' camp, but it certainly does get at the humanity behind these momentous and some might say apocalyptic decisions.

Murphy is of course great, as are most of the ensemble, even those who don't really have much time to do anything. I was almost inclined to say Emily Blunt is underused here, but she has one scene that's so good later on that you're inclined to almost retrospectively forgive Nolan for keeping her on the bench up to that point.

I can see some of the structural decisions turning people off. This is a long film that becomes almost a second film at the two-hour mark. It takes a while to settle back in, and an already talky film grows even talkier at that point. I think the destination is ultimately worth a somewhat jarring swerve to get there - but it's definitely a big ask at a point when some audience members may be thinking about when they'll get to pee. Also, Nolan doesn't always do subtle - there are moments here it's fair to say are very, very on the nose.

But overall, I liked it a whole lot - in many ways, the most accomplished and consistent film Nolan has made since a lot earlier in his career. It is, in some ways, an unusual fit for a summer blockbuster - there are a lot of close-ups of people talking in rooms here. But that stuff can look as good as any big action setpiece, and in a way it's refreshing to see Nolan use a big cinematic canvas to tell a story that shifts so seamlessly between the historically monumental and the brutal intimacy of the people making those decisions.

I see sheep · 22-07-2023 5:40pm

9/10 from me.

Class performance from Cillian.

Not a typical Nolan movie but I guess with it being a true story a twist like Memento/Prestige/Inception isn't possible.

Might go see it again. (Unlimited pass)

Kermit.de.frog · 22-07-2023 6:12pm

It's great to see a documovie getting so much praise. Hopefully it will show Hollywood that there is a huge audience there for real life stories grounded in reality after years of so much attention and funding going in to superhero movies.

PressRun · 22-07-2023 7:36pm

Cillian Murphy is magnificent. Performance of his career, I'd say.

Terrier2023 · 22-07-2023 8:39pm

Good and very close to the original book American Prometheus i liked it & thought it was well done with a good cast.

El Gato De Negocios · 22-07-2023 8:49pm

Saw it this evening and thoroughly enjoyed it, as did the missus. Certainly didn't feel like it was 3 hours in length and for me, personally, i thought the last hour was the best, some really riveting scenes, particularly RDJ's hearing. Cinema was about half full while two other screens simultaneously screening Barbie were sold out🤷‍♂️.

Aglomerado · 22-07-2023 9:18pm

Incredible film. Held my attention from start to finish. Three hours well spent. I hadn't been to the cinema in a long time but I was dying to see this.

HalloweenJack · 23-07-2023 1:06am

As with all Nolan films, the sound gets a mention. There was one part in particular, when they were preparing for the test, with a tinkling sound like a Geiger counter and something like the spark of a lighter and the sound of burning. It was great for setting the scene and building tension.

The pace was very good, especially for a three-hour film. I never felt like it was dragging on, though it did drop a bit in the final hour.

Some stunning performances thrown in. Casey Affleck was menacing and unsettling. He didn't need the characterisation given by Matt Damon; you could feel the nastiness dripping from him. Josh Hartnett was a surprise as well, oddly charming yet serious. Murphy was stunning. He really ran the gauntlet in terms of emotions and as Oppenheimer tried to keep it together. The tasteless speech after Hiroshima just showed the split between what he wanted/thought he need to be and what he was thinking. And the pain in the final shots was harrowing. I wasn't too fond of RDJ tbh, he felt a bit hammy at times and too slick at others.

Most of all, the whole philosophical consideration and historical context were hammered home. The arms race and the realisation of how this was all going to happen one way or another was scary. I guess Oppenheimer fancied himself as being able to control the whole operation once the bomb was developed but he was just used by the US government to advance the project and tossed aside.

I always have time for films that make me think and Nolan delivers again. I'm sure I'll come back in the next few days with more thoughts about.

I didn't think the split story worked too well. The last hour with all the Strauss stuff was a bit slow. I wanted the resolution to Oppenheimer's story but it almost felt like two films and I didn't need so much exposition to get to the reason why, though it does finish well by highlighting Strauss' self-importance when the real important moment was Oppenheimer meeting Einstein. It could have been more subtle and certain ideas were over-used or referred to a bit too much.

Highly recommend it and wasn't too 'scientific' (I'm hopeless with science so all those technical details go over my head) despite what it's about.