This is the story of a man overwhelmed by doubt, for an invention that has shaken humanity. “Oppenheimer” clinched the highest Hollywood honor on Sunday with the Oscar for Best Film.
Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece is a grand old-fashioned film: star-studded cast, massive budget, in-house special effects, and high stakes.
Spanning over three hours, it depicts the key moments in the life of Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who ushered the planet into the nuclear age, hastened the end of World War II, only to be plagued by doubt in the face of his creation turned tool of ultimate power.
A $100 million film like a steamroller, defying the recent trend of awarding the Best Film Oscar to smaller independent productions.
“I dreamed of this moment for so long. But it seemed so unlikely that it would ever happen (…) The reason why this film was what it was, is Chris Nolan. He is unique. He is brilliant,” said Emma Thomas, the film’s producer, praising Christopher Nolan who also won the Best Director statuette for “Oppenheimer.”
For the filming, Nolan had Los Alamos rebuilt in the plains of the southwestern United States, and the climax of the film, depicting the first nuclear explosion in July 1945, was shot with a very real explosive blast.
A recipe so effective that it quickly united both critics and audiences.
The film grossed over a billion dollars worldwide, and accolades from the cinema world poured in, culminating in Sunday’s crowning achievement.
Dream and Nightmare
Christopher Nolan, the director of blockbusters like “Inception” or “The Dark Knight” Batman trilogy, embarked on the project after reading the thorough biography “Robert Oppenheimer – Triumph and Tragedy of a Genius” by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin.
The drama lies there: a unique mind caught in a tragedy of “dream and nightmare,” according to the director.
After attaining fame as the “father of the atomic bomb,” Robert Oppenheimer is consumed with regret over the consequences of his invention. He becomes an advocate for nuclear disarmament, only to be sidelined by a witch hunt, accused of communist sympathies.
“There’s no clear answer to his story,” said Christopher Nolan, “it encapsulates fascinating paradoxes.”
The image of the scientist with his hand on his forehead, staring into space, absorbed by these infinite contradictions, has become the icon of the feature film.
Three Genres
The movie is structured around a clever mix of three genres: the heroic narrative, the heist film, and the courtroom drama.
The editing alternates between the race against the bomb with the Nazis, the assembly of an expert team to carry out the project, and the trial of a genius turned target of McCarthyism.
In the lead role, Christopher Nolan chose Cillian Murphy, an Irishman well-known to the director, who garnered the Best Actor Oscar. Facing him in the anti-communist Washington of the 1950s, an impeccable Robert Downey Jr., who walked away on Sunday with the Best Supporting Actor statuette.
A stellar cast followed: Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, Gary Oldman, and Rami Malek.
“Barbenheimer”
Its immense commercial success is also attributed to the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon. The release, on the same day last July amidst a Hollywood strike, of the atomic drama and the romantic comedy “Barbie,” served as a launchpad and drove thousands of viewers to see both films, so diametrically different.
Faced with cotton candy, it was necessary to successfully market a long film blending historical questions, nuclear physics, and bureaucratic hearings.
With such a plot, “you don’t think it’s going to make a billion dollars in revenue,” recalls Charles Roven, one of the producers of the film released by Universal. “The fact that it was achieved, with a shower of good reviews, is so gratifying!”
Nothing has since halted the march towards glory of “Oppenheimer”, collecting prestigious awards in recent months at the Golden Globes, the British Baftas, and the SAG Awards, before Sunday’s ultimate recognition at the Oscars.