Might need some time to still process the entire ordeal, but as of right now I think this is legitimately Nolan's best film and one that is going to stick with me for a long while after seeing it. He handled Oppenheimer and the subject matter in a nuanced, but still concise way with what the overall message is. Lord knows certain detractors of this movie will keep regurgitating biased misconceptions as criticisms, also because some folks just hate Nolan with the firey passion of a thousand suns (pun somewhat intended) for some godforsaken reason. But to me, it worked for the most part.
Things I disliked
- The sex scene(s) was... weird. I don't want the remembrance of Oppenheimer's I Am Become Death speech that he gave clearly haunted by what he'd done irl, to now be associated with the film version of him saying it while Jean Tatlock is riding him on the bed. I haven't read American Prometheus yet, but even with that in mind, I can't imagine this was something that actually happened. And while I do get what Nolan was going for with Kitty visualizing Oppenheimer cheating on her with Jean in that one interrogation scene, it just came across as jarring and unintentionally comical.
- The movie's kinetic pacing was a bit too much for me at first. It was quite distracting how quick it was moving along for the first hour or so, with most scenes being so short where it almost felt like they were rushed. Fortunately the rest of the movie was paced better, but yeah, it was bit rough for me to get used to.
- The Trinity sequence had terrific build-up and execution... except for the actual bomb effects themselves. It looked much too small in comparison of the gigantic scope of the real test and lacked the necessary weight it needed. I respect Nolan's adversity for CGI in this, but I genuinely do believe that some major CGI touch-ups could have made a lot of improvements. It just did not have the intended effect that he intended.
Things I liked/love
- Every performance in this movie, no matter how big or how small, worked really well imo. If Cillan Murphy, RDJ and Emily Blunt don't get Oscar nominations for this movie, any shred of integrity the Academy has left will be extinguished.
- Ludwig Goransson score is just. Perfection. It gave scenes that would otherwise be uneventful or not leave much of an impact (in particular every interrogation scene) a sense of adrenaline and dread. It fit Nolan's experimental visuals beautifully and enhanced every sequence of the movie. Currently listening to the Trinity track right now, it was that good.
- Oppenheimer's neurotic visions and hallucinations were demonstrated beautifully and it helped foreshadow Oppenheimer's inner conflict and the ramifications of the atom bomb.
- Despite being disappointed by the Trinity bomb effects, the rest of the sequence had absolutely fantastic build-up and contrasting the I Am Become Death line with the mushroom cloud in eerie silence was phenomenally haunting.
- The last hour or so of this movie, which I could see turning a lot of general audiences off, was my favorite part of this movie. Nolan went above and beyond to make Oppenheimer's tribulations and Strauss' plotting feel engaging which is very commendable since that last hour mostly comprises of interrogations and people talking in rooms.
- I liked the way Nolan interpreted Oppenheimer in this movie. A very flawed man (had no idea he tried to poison one of his teachers when he was younger, jesus) who whose well-intentioned naivety and ingenuity led to him realizing the true consequences of his creation too late. Anyone saying that this movie glorifies him is phenomenally ignorant or was already looking to hate the movie before seeing it.
- The scene with Truman announcing the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, contrasted with the whiplash of the cheers of people in the gymnasium and the disgust and regret of the scientists afterwards was terrific. I was not disappointed that they didn't show those bombins, having the characters react to it and process the fallout was much more impactful.
- The ending. That's going to haunt me for a long time.
And that's all that comes to my head for now. I already know not everyone is going to enjoy this movie, particularly due to the long running time (which didn't feel long to me at) and the numerous court scenes, but I was 110% engaged in this film and now left pondering the question of whether we'll face the threat of a nuclear war in the future now more than ever.
