By Ica Hontiveros-Cheng
Based on the (2005) biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin-which now I have to get a copy of, the film adaptation of which was helmed by the great Christopher Nolan opens with the line: “Prometheus gave the humans the gift of fire, for this he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity.” And this becomes a constant theme throughout the three hour film. The audience gets to have a front seat to how J. Robert Oppenheimer carried the guilt of building the atomic bomb that he hardly puts up a fight when a vindictive person of influence sets into motion a heart wrenching unraveling of him as a person and his life’s work.
Cillian Murphy, who plays the titular J. Robert Oppenheimer, ‘Robert’ to his alcoholic wife Kitty (Emily Blunt) and ‘Oppie’ to his friends and fellow scientists, just because you work with “Oppie” does not exactly mean that you’re friends. Murphy leads a star studded cast you will definitely find yourself pointing at the screen as you recognize each one. After seeing the movie, you want to check on the cast, just in case you missed some, and with their sheer number, you most likely will.
The film is described as an “epic biographical thriller” and these are three words that I would never imagine go together but they do describe the film very well. The movie is an epic biography of a truly unique individual, one who carries such a heavy burden of knowledge, and who has an unimaginable guilt in his heart.
“And now I am the condemned, destroyer of worlds.”
While watching Oppenheimer in IMAX (SM Megamall) I finally understood the importance of seeing it on the biggest and best screen possible. (we don’t have the 70mm option here but that’s another story) you have to see Oppenheimer on the biggest and best screen possible so that you can fully appreciate the gravity of the destruction, it is as if you are in the middle of it. It was shot on IMAX cameras, so if you can see it in IMAX theaters then you should.
The sound has to be the best also, there is a lot of sound isolation and manipulation in the film, so much so that you find yourself jumping in your seat, and having your heart skip a beat. It is as if you too were vibrating like atoms in your seat. Composer Ludwig Gorranson should already start writing his acceptance speech.
I also have to applaud the performance of the cast in the film, the acting was brilliant! Props to Cillian Murphy, and Robert Downey Jr. nominations, and awards are coming for sure.
No questions asked, this is an important film that we must see, and this is especially true with the constant threat of war and with superpowers ever playing a game of chicken with nuclear weapons, and you know, the other game – who has the bigger nuclear weapon in their backyard.
It will leave you with a chilling feeling of dread only Nolan knows how to achieve. I myself was walked out of the cinema in a daze, I couldn’t stomach the politics that weaved its way in the story, to be in the same room and discuss which city was going to be bombed, I thought I was going to be sick.
The events of Oppenheimer may have happened decades ago, but it still remains significant to this day.
“Science, my lad is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.” – Jules Verne.