8
by TC
Finally got to see this last night. Sure, not as Nolan would have liked, on that 3h 70mm film with a platter that takes up a small bedroom, but I like my setup quite fine. It was a very good film, I feel like this goes without saying. Nolan is nothing if not an astute craftsman. In structure, pacing, content, visuals, audio, everything. Yes, I said audio. In a Nolan film. The mix is actually fantastic for the most part. I felt like he handled the tragic story that is Oppenheimer’s life extremely well, with the intercutting flashbacks/forwards/etc. It’s hard to really explain how this film is structured from a narrative standpoint. It switches POVs in and out very seamlessly. We are watching his past, his present, his future, all kind of interwoven, told from multiple POVs. I realize that sounds insane and confusing, but it’s not, at all. As I said, Nolan is a master craftsman, and that’s on full display here. An extremely well done film, extremely well-acted all around, with Downey, Jr., and Murphy being massive stand-outs. Damon is great in this, too. Yes, it’s 3h long, but I didn’t really notice. There is a lot to tell here.
As far as how they handled Japan, nothing is ever on screen directly, but we do get insight into Oppenheimer’s nightmares and waking nightmarish visions, and how much it tormented him the rest of his life. As I said, he was put in his own personal Kobayashi Maru and never really escaped the devastating results.