Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan)

Just back from watching it. Not exactly a barrel of laughs. Some great acting and I think it will benefit from a rewatch.

The more you know about the scientists and the history of the Manhattan project and McCarthyism the more you'll get from it. I know some of it definitely went over my head

I know some of it definitely went over my head

The same here.

Just out from it.

I should have read a book about the subject as I knew next to nothing. I'd advise even reading his wiki page just to give you something.

No doubt a great movie if you know the subject matter.

Long....very long

Agreed, 2.5hrs of questioning🙈

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.

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

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

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??

I doubt that.

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.

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)

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

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🤷‍♂️.

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.

Wow.

What film wouldn't be improved with shonky picture quality, bad sound and dodgy betting ads

Saw it last night and i hate to say it but I didnt enjoy it nearly as much as I expected. Nolan just went in a completely different direction with this than I thought he would. It was senate state hearing heavy and I think Nolan made a big mistake going with that angle. The Genesis of the Atomic bomb is an absolutely fascinating story but I feel like there was very little screen Time given to exactly how they made this thing. It was like, get some scientists together in the desert and then.......we're at trinity! A better and more interesting story would've been a race against Heisinberg and his crew. And then show the bombing mission at the end of it all. I feel that was a strange choice not to let the audience see things play themselves out. There was so much room in there for philosophy, for God, for a study of genius but that was all traded in favor of courtroom drama, which wasn't very dramatic because it was security clearance at stake and not a matter if jail. Cillian Murphy is excellent and so is RDJ but I think Emily blunt steals every scene she's in. She is absolutely brilliant. As some have said, it's too long, I mean the build up to trinity was thrilling but then......back to the hearings!!! This was the point where they should've been off to Hiroshima for the bombing mission. They lost the audience at that point, I could literally feel this in the Cinema.

But as a spectacle the film lost momentum at that point. Like I mentioned, you could literally feel people lose interest in the film when they jumped to more hearings.

100%.

I think it also gives more weight because the viewer has their imagination to consider the consequences, instead of being drip fed newsreel images.

I do agree there could have been more discussion on the philosophy of the whole thing. It seemed like it all started out as a few scientists throwing ideas out there and then getting excited about where that could take them in hypotheticals. Then the military caught wind of it and it all got too real too quick.

There was one scene where Oppenheimer says something along the lines of 'Theory will only get you so far' when they're discussing the possible chain reaction and 'almost zero' chance of it happening. I think the film showed the difference between the scientists who wanted to explore possibilities and push the boundaries of possibility and the politicians/military who were happy to take responsibility and put those theories into practice and disregarding the humanitarian consequences by wrapping them up in patriotism and justification for war.