Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, Oscar for Best Film 2024: (Re)discover our review

In Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan tackles a key figure in contemporary history: J. Robert Oppenheimer, nicknamed "the father of the atomic bomb". This historicalbiopic brings together a first-rate cast, including Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon, to explore the behind-the-scenes story of the Manhattan Project, which led to the creation of the first atomic bomb. Mixing political tensions, moral dilemmas and scientific prowess, Nolan delivers a captivating fresco, immersing viewers in the complex world of science and its devastating consequences.

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Oppenheimer will appeal to viewers with a passion for great historical figures and stories combining science and ethical issues, and to fans of Christopher Nolan's cinema, renowned for its complex, immersive narratives. The film will also appeal to fans of intellectual thrillers, offering food for thought on the consequences of scientific progress and its implications for the modern world.

Thanks to the performance of Cillian Murphy, who plays J. Robert Oppenheimer with intensity, and Nolan's rigorous direction, the film offers an experience that is both captivating and introspective. Compared to works such as The King's Speech or The Imitation Game, this biopic goes beyond the historical to ask universal questions about responsibility and morality in the face of revolutionary discoveries.

Oppenheimer is an ambitious work that combines Christopher Nolan's narrative talent, a masterful performance by Cillian Murphy, and a meticulous reconstruction of a pivotal moment in history. With its profound themes and unique cinematographic treatment, this film is a must-see for fans of historical narratives and demanding cinema.

Our opinion of Oppenheimer:

Right from the introduction, a quotation clarifies Christopher Nolan's point: Oppenheimer is a modern-day Prometheus, and by offering humanity the atomic bomb, he chains himself to a life of suffering. The life and work of J. Robert Oppenheimer had everything to fascinate the filmmaker, who refers to it in several of his films.

To tell the story of this rich life, Nolan takes as his starting point a trial in which the physicist faces serious charges of treason. And to prove that he wasn't working for the Soviet forces, Oppenheimer recounts his life story. For the first time in Nolan's cinema, politics take on a foundational role, the subject matter is weighty and the characters complex. Yet this doesn't allow Oppenheimer to match the success of his previous films.

What Christopher Nolan likes to do is twist his story, mix temporalities and blur the lines. He did this in Memento, Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk and Tenet. It's clear that he also wanted to do this for Oppenheimer, but he faces a major obstacle in being inspired by a true story. In fact, to twist his story, he keeps going back and forth in time. The only result is to lose our way: we never really know in which year the story lingers, and this weighs down the process, which loses its power. In the end, Oppenheimer is a straightforward biopic like the dozens we see every year, but in terms of form, it's terribly convoluted and pretentious.

Nolan multiplies stylistic effects and clumsiness to add his authorial touch to the story, but it doesn't work. For example, the alternation of black and white and color, supposed to differentiate between objective facts and Oppenheimer's subjective truth, never gives that impression. Nothing in the staging emphasizes this difference, and it ultimately has no impact on the story. As a result, the viewer is faced with an interminable three-hour film that's long and unwieldy. While the technical quality is beyond reproach, the whole thing is terribly lacking in emotion. Tenet was already a cold film, but Oppenheimer is even colder. And the parade of stars in the cast doesn't help, as these big Hollywood names are reduced to cameos that would make Wes Anderson green with envy. In addition to the main cast (Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, Bennie Safdie, etc.), Alden Ehrenreich, Rami Malek, Casey Affleck, Kenneth Branagh, Jack Quaid (Hughie in The Boys), Dane DeHaan and Gary Oldman all appear for a scene or two.

However, the film will undoubtedly appeal to Nolan fans, who will rediscover the author's trademark craftsmanship and sense of the spectacular.

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