Yesterday I had the luck to watch the much-awaited Nolan's brainchild - The Oppenheimer. I was dying to watch this on the big screen since its teaser dropped last year, and also coz of my biased love towards physics. I will share with you the aspects which I loved and found jarring in the movie. First of all, this is a biopic, and Nolan treats it that way, and you might not be as dumbstruck as you were while witnessing his previous works.
I found the first half quite lagging. Felt like they took a lot of time rambling about his political affiliations, and I felt that it would have been better if they had cut a few of it. Now talking about the elephant in the room: The explosion. It was the real reason why I signed up for. The physics-enthusiast kid in me was super patient to witness this, but it fell somewhat short of my expectations. I literally wanted to see the nucleus of every isotope splitting up and affecting mankind as drastically as ever. But, I didn't get the satisfaction for the rainbows I chased. I suggest you watch this on IMAX or ensure that you have the best sound system you could find.
I'm not being a straight-up pessimist all the way. The movie is a treat for all the physics geeks. You get all your bad boys on the ball. There's Neils Bohr, Einstein, Heisenberg, and also your quantum man (Feynman) playing his bangos at every merry movement. I liked the fact that Nolan opted for a noir frame to capture the dramatic political movements in the scene. It shows various layers of different characters you encounter. The pitch and the tonality of the movie turn into a really good courtroom drama, which can keep you emotionally invested. Nolan hits it out of the park when it comes to striking the emotional chord between the characters. The relationships that each and every character shares come out as a nuanced testimony of goodness as per the transient circumstances. Nolan went honest with the controversies and the characters, and the story is shown as transparent as water when it comes to unraveling its dark moments. Every character is human to the core.
The Nolan style of non-linear filmmaking has yet proven its mettle once again as this has everything that seems fresh to your eyes. Cillian Murphy just killed it. He says a lot with his eyes. The way he portrays his emotional abyss with the juxtaposing turn of events in the expressions is just pure art.The moral dillema that he faces on thinking about the outcomes of his creation and the joy of the present are shown with pin point perfection. He deserves an Oscar. RDJ has it all boiled up to be a killer antagonist by exceeding perfection in each scene. The cast is itself the jewel of the crown. The movie has some of the best dialogues to hear. The best for me was "They need you until they don't."
The climax was the cherry on the cake which summed up the entire movie.
And that's it. This is just my take, and you can watch it on your own to judge it.
This isn't the finest of the Nolan universe, but it's the best of all the movies you see. Still, Inception, Prestige, and Memento are my favorites. Till then, doodles!"