Oppenheimer

A focused Nolan, a perfect Cillian Murphy and a roaring Ludwig Göransson in a history lesson I've always wanted to see. The suffocating atmosphere, disturbed only by the celebration of the Trinity explosion, sticks to the palate, and at times you feel sick of what could have been. If Hitler hadn't shot himself, they would have dropped the nukes in Europe. Oppenheimer's life of communism, his wives, his nightmares, his friends and his enemies are all engulfing, and for three hours they don't let go, whether it's black and white conversations or the simulation of a nuclear explosion. The horrific ending with Einstein still resonates with me. “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” (07/26/2023)

Two commissions, two ambivalent narcissists and a lot of tensions, things left unsaid and affecting history. Unexpectedly emotional and working with characters for a Nolan film. Spectacular in all its intimacy, transparent in all the time-playing frenzy of characters, names, and events. Three hours of dialogue condensed into what feels like a much shorter running time. The tangibility of it all, the acting, Göransson's score, the editing... Everything is at the highest bar, but that's no the reason to love it. The reason is how it totally nails it, how it grapples the issue in an unscholarly way asking the big questions of life, and how damn good it is as a film. (07/28/2023)

Long waiting for Nolan's next film was interrupted by the biography of Robert Oppenheimer, who became the architect of the atomic bomb. And yes, the topic is undoubtedly strong, but it doesn't deserve 180 minutes at all. In addition, Christopher Nolan, following his pattern, does not make it easy for the viewer at all, as he intertwines three time planes from the very beginning and if you are not familiar with even the basic facts of Oppenheimer's life, good luck with that. And it's difficult because most of the time in the film is spent talking and talking and talking... and if only that talking was at least palatable. But it's not. You will especially realize this when Albert Einstein appears on the scene. He completely takes all those dialogues for himself and as soon as he appears on the screen, you can be sure that you will witness the best dialogue that the film offers at that moment. A film that depicts progress that has become indispensable for the course of humanity, but at the same time we don't deserve it at all. In addition, it shows the arrogance of Americans and what the Russians then demonstrated... I won't even talk about that. (12/23/2023)

I was expecting another new world adventure and instead got a wildly edited, plodding three-hour procedural with elements of an inside job at the end. All to the sound of monstrously thumping music and artsy black and white flashbacks. I'm not disputing the dense premise, or the decent performances, but the film only has two sparks in 180 minutes. One when the bomb goes off and the other when the camera is trained on Florence Pugh – with or without clothes on, it doesn't matter, both work. (11/27/2023)

Nolan is the Dr. Manhattan of contemporary Hollywood. And perhaps will be for another two decades at least. At the peak of his creative powers, he can afford a three-hour conversation colossus, which subjectively lasts a third less, because the level of precision of all creative components is on an absolute level. Actually, even the most coveted gold-plated statue is completely understandable. And yet something is missing. Perhaps a bit of personal passion in front of and behind the camera. Without hesitation, however, this is the only film by the director that I know I will probably never watch again. PS: Sex in the interrogation room is probably the biggest cringe moment in Nolan's filmography. No debate about it. (03/25/2024)