The film ‘Oppenheimer’ released in theatres worldwide on 21st July this year, bringing a conclusion to the trending showdown as supposed by the social media acronym ‘Barbenheimer’. The film was highly anticipated as the magnum opus director, Christopher Nolan made his comeback to the theatres after three long years since the release of his sci-fi crime thriller film ‘Tenet’ in 2020. Thus, justly standing to its pre-conceived fame, the film scored the IMDb rating of 9.2 upon its release, which is the highest score possible, further dropping down to the score of 8.8.
A notable information about the film is that it has been adapted from the book ‘American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer’ written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Thus, the film starts with the metaphorical comparison of the protagonist Oppenheimer to the Greek God, Prometheus, when the quote in the background of explosive fire flashes on the screen,
“Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. For this he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity.”
The film centres around the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of atomic bomb; his ingenious to his creation leading to his own destruction; alike Prometheus, the God of fire, a master craftsman who offered fire to men enabling them of their own destruction, hence entitled to suffer beyond.
(Final review at the end)
Analysis
The film majorly revolves around the field of Quantum physics to the similar level of importance given to Oppenheimer, thus containing abundant scientific terminologies (example, isotopes, neutron bombardment experiment, density of star); so, initially it is difficult to comprehend each scene for the amateurs. The protagonist is played by the ‘Scarecrow’ fame of the film Batman Begins (2005), Cillian Murphy.
The storyline and the scenes can be better understood through a broad distinction in the overall timeline of the film, namely,
‘former to the creation of atom bomb’ and,
‘post the creation of atom bomb’.
In the initial scenes, we see young Oppenheimer having disturbing visions of a ‘new universe’ which refers to a microworld of atoms. The sequence forebodes a consistent theme in the film of the protagonist being fascinated, disturbed or immersed in the quantum world of atoms, finally leading to an invention of his lifetime, the atom bomb.
Characteristic to the films by Nolan, the presentation is non-linear where we witness a character post the creation of atom bomb in Oppenheimer’s life, Lewis Strauss, played by actor Robert Downey Jr. He is extremely welcoming and generous to Oppenheimer as in the future he becomes the American Hero of Science, but his true intentions are revealed in the climax of the film.
In the above sequence, we witness an interesting dynamic between Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein, where protagonist admires him greatly and has amicable relations with him, but has such a distinct independence in thoughts that he disagrees with Einstein’s stance on things as he addresses to Mr. Strauss, “Einstein was a great physicist of his time and that was 40 years ago.”
Prior the invention, Oppenheimer’s associations are described vividly as personal and professional influences. The German theoretical physicist Warner Heisenberg, played by actor Matthias Schweighofer, acts as major inspiration to Oppenheimer throughout the film to introduce quantum physics to America, as he refers to ‘a quantum world behind real world’ and a paper on molecules by Heisenberg.
Jean Tatlock
A crucial connection underplayed and not utilized in the film properly is that of Jean Tatlock, the love interest of Oppenheimer, played by actress Florence Pugh. The character is an American psychiatrist and physician, but dominantly an active member of Communist Party of the United States of America. As per real events, her influence on him is noted to have led the scientist to intellectually incline to Communism, due to his increasing interest in the state of Jewish refugees, politics and its impact on the masses.
The association with Communism, post the World War II becomes the bane of Oppenheimer later life and fatal to his career as a nuclear physicist. Although, the film does not explore the connection with the psychoanalyst Jean in an intellectual and influential manner to a just extent, but indulges more in the scenes of intercourse and presenting Jean as a character desperate of Oppenheimer’s presence and affection, thus leading to her eventual suicide.
On the contrary, the cause of Jean Tatlock’s suicide as presented in the film may lack accuracy; as per accounts of her friend Mason Robertson, she claimed to be a lesbian and saw her homosexuality as a pathological condition to be overcome, which may have led to her committing suicide.
Oppenheimer-Einstein-Strauss
A very intriguing dynamic can be observed between three characters in the film, protagonist Oppenheimer, Albert Einstein and Lewis Strauss. A sequence of great importance is of the first meeting between Lewis Strauss and Robert Oppenheimer, which is post the end of World War II.
In 1947, Strauss had risen up the ladder through his hard work and became the Commissioner of the Atomic Energy Commission. When he saw Robert coming out of the car, he did not waste a moment and ran towards him with childlike enthusiasm. Probably alike many Americans, Strauss too adored the man whose invention ended the World War. But, alas we should never meet our heroes.
Strauss along with other board members wanted Oppenheimer to lead Princeton University, which after a long persuasion earns him a mere response of “I will consider it”. Then, Oppenheimer catches up with an old Einstein near the pond in the university. Both have a little chat which at first is kept hidden from the audience and Strauss himself. But, a jarring moment for Strauss is revealed when Einstein turns cold to him after having the chat with Oppenheimer, thus embarking a lost list of assumptions and grievances of Lewis Strauss against Oppenheimer.
This interaction and sequence lead to initiation of the ‘villain arc’ of Mr. Strauss (played by Robert Downey Jr.) in the film, where his personal vindictiveness and revenge leads to Oppenheimer losing his honor, security clearance from U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, with allegations of Communism and being an undercover agent of Soviet Union against U.S.A.
The turning point arrives towards the end of the film where the true content of the little conversation is revealed, as Einstein said to Oppenheimer,
“You all thought I’d lost the ability to understand what I’d started. Now, it’s your turn to deal with the consequences of your achievement. They’ll pat you on your back, tell you all is forgiven… Just remember it won’t be for you. It will be for them.”
Thus, he predicted Oppenheimer’s tragic future against his achievement. This goes on to show how a misunderstanding by Strauss led to the downfall of the protagonist.
Religious Comparisons: Bhagvad Gita & Greek Mythology
Oppenheimer has long been famous for his linguistic excellence and varied interests which included the language of Sanskrit and his interest in the Hindu sacred text of Bhagvad Gita, for personal consolation to the guilt of the consequences of his creation. “Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds. The fireball of Trinity nuclear test made him realize the catastrophe and untamed power which he has brought upon the world, as Hiroshima and Nagasaki burnt mercilessly in the name of triumph of U.S.A and the end of World War II.
The guilt of the fire he had unleashed made him confess to the President of the nation, “I have blood on my hands.” It is alike to the tale of the Greek God of Fire, Prometheus, further burdening him with the title of the American Prometheus, as it can be said ‘a man who has given them the power to destroy themselves, and they will respect that.’
The Duality of Both ‘Monochrome and Colour’ Scenes in Oppenheimer
Upon the release of teasers for the film, a presumption was made by the audience that the entirety of film will be monochromatic, but the further trailers released disproved it.
If the film is scrutinized deeply, we can observe that the scenes in colour represent ‘Oppenheimer in his true nature’ which is mainly the period before his public scrutiny. The scenes post the World War II and the traumatic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, including majority of scenes of Lewis Strauss, were monochromatic where Oppenheimer had lost himself to his guilt.
The only sequences after the end of the War where the scenes are shot in colour, are the ‘realization of the attack’ on Japan through his invention, and his trial by the Prosecuting Council appointed by Strauss. As in the council, he was speaking and revealing his truth.
Review
Without a wavering thought, the biographical drama film ‘Oppenheimer’ will register itself as a classic, already drawing comparisons to classics such as Schindler’s List (1993). The film concentrates on ‘the experience of the event over just the physicality of event’, thus containing abundant headshots and close-ups to highlight the emotion and reaction of the character.
The scenes are warm saturated having certain reminiscence of the colour palette of a previous film by the director, Inception. The star-studded cast was utilized well with the highly awaited comeback of actor Robert Downey Jr. being a success due to the complexity of his character. The critically acclaimed actor Cillan Murphy profoundly captured the nuances of his character on screen.
The scene involving the Hindu text Bhagvad Gita between the characters Jean and Oppenheimer was controversial in nature and somehow appeared unnecessary given the context of the moment. The first two hours of the film lacked engagement where the non-linear storytelling had issues with maintaining the flow, but the last hour picked up the pace since the success of Trinity test.
The original music score by Ludwig Goransson has been embedded less to the scenes in the film compared to other films by Christopher Nolan, probably to compensate the realism in the scenes. In entirety, the film does justice to the great physicist’s tragic story of ‘creation becoming one’s own destruction.’
Therefore, the end of Nolan’s long collaboration with Warner Brothers and the fresh initiation with Universal Pictures hints at a brand new direction, in the form of the film Oppenheimer.