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James Mottram

4.5/5 stars
For much of his exalted career, Christopher Nolan has explored the inner workings of the universe, often on vast canvases.
While films like Interstellar and Tenet have blended science with fiction, this time Nolan focuses on real-life theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the so-called “father of the atomic bomb”.
Oppenheimer’s story is one of brilliance, fear, betrayal and ultimately regret as the American government that recruited him spat him out. Cillian Murphy plays him like a man who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.


Nolan as usual adopts a non-linear structure to unfold the film, flipping between two sections.
One, labelled “fission” and filmed in colour, follows the top-secret Manhattan Project as the weapon of mass destruction set to be dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is developed.
The other, labelled “fusion” and filmed in black and white, charts the period after World War II when Oppenheimer becomes persona non grata.
As he faces a security-clearance hearing, his tenuous past associations count against him as the US is gripped by Communist witch hunts led by Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Oppenheimer mines great drama from its biographical source, the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. While the Trinity Test – the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, conducted in the New Mexico desert – gives Nolan his literal ticking bomb, Oppenheimer is much more about the physicist’s internal struggles.
He may be “the most important man that ever lived”, according to Robert Downey Jr’s character Lewis Strauss, the conniving chairman of the US Atomic Energy Commission, but Oppenheimer is also unstable and neurotic.
Nolan’s cast is both vast and astounding. Hugely impressive are both Emily Blunt, as Oppenheimer’s wife Kitty, and Matt Damon as General Groves, leader of the Manhattan Project.

Big-name Oscar winners (Gary Oldman, Rami Malek, Casey Affleck and Kenneth Branagh) bob around the screen like particles, but nothing upsets the film’s equilibrium.
Other stand-out performers include the Australian actor Jason Clarke, as prosecutor Roger Robb, and actor-director Benny Safdie as scientist Edward Teller. Trying to pick out a plum performance from such an illustrious ensemble, however, almost feels unfair.
Knitted together by Ludwig Göransson’s tumultuous score, the film also makes full use of Hoyte van Hoytema’s IMAX-ready cinematography. The detail on camera – not just desert vistas, but worry lines on people’s faces – pulls you right into this world.

There’s the odd misstep, notably one bizarrely explicit moment in the hearing sequence. But detailing the way in which the world opened Pandora’s nuclear box, Oppenheimer is more than just a historical biopic. It feels like a movie for our times.
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Oppenheimer movie review: Christopher Nolan profiles ‘father of the atomic bomb’ in engrossing biographical drama

Cillian Murphy (left) and Emily Blunt in a still from “Oppenheimer”. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pic.

Cillian Murphy (centre) in a still from “Oppenheimer” (category IIB), directed by Christopher Nolan. Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr co-star. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pic

Robert Downey Jr in a still from “Oppenheimer”. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pic

Cillian Murphy (left) and Emily Blunt in a still from “Oppenheimer”. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pic

Cillian Murphy in a still from “Oppenheimer”. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pic

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Starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr, Oppenheimer features a range of outstanding performances from its vast and astounding cast
There’s the odd misstep, but Nolan superbly tells Oppenheimer’s story in a film that is more than just a historical biopic – it feels like a movie for our times


Starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is more than just a historical biopic – it feels like a movie for our times.


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Matt Damon

An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


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Review | Oppenheimer movie review: Christopher Nolan profiles ‘father of the atomic bomb’ in engrossing biographical drama