Oppenheimer (2023)
Country: US/GB
Technical: col/bw/IMAX 180m
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh
Synopsis:
From a student haunted by the destructive potential of sub-atomic particles, to teaching quantum physics at Berkeley, J. Robert Oppenheimer numbers Marxism among his manifold interests before he is recruited by the U.S. military; his mission: to beat Nazi scientists in the race to build a destructive bomb capable of being delivered by the V2.
Review:
Constructing his film according to a schema of gathering narrative threads, cataclysm and then fallout, Nolan has his audience feel like one of Oppenheimer's colliding particles. It is a brave gambit, especially if you find it hard to tune into the dialogue track before the scene changes, since it eschews the customary dynamics of the 'mistreated genius' fabula: astonished teachers, professional preeminence, golden hour, then betrayal/conspiracy. It's a bit like watching JFK in reverse, with the assassination coming near the end. Remembering the order in which the various revisited segments took place is not helped by a general absence of situating titles, but that is all part of the reordering of chaos alluded to above. Fortunately the cast carries us by dint of its utter conviction, and the director's assumption that we all know something about physics means that one is never unchallenged.
Country: US/GB
Technical: col/bw/IMAX 180m
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh
Synopsis:
From a student haunted by the destructive potential of sub-atomic particles, to teaching quantum physics at Berkeley, J. Robert Oppenheimer numbers Marxism among his manifold interests before he is recruited by the U.S. military; his mission: to beat Nazi scientists in the race to build a destructive bomb capable of being delivered by the V2.
Review:
Constructing his film according to a schema of gathering narrative threads, cataclysm and then fallout, Nolan has his audience feel like one of Oppenheimer's colliding particles. It is a brave gambit, especially if you find it hard to tune into the dialogue track before the scene changes, since it eschews the customary dynamics of the 'mistreated genius' fabula: astonished teachers, professional preeminence, golden hour, then betrayal/conspiracy. It's a bit like watching JFK in reverse, with the assassination coming near the end. Remembering the order in which the various revisited segments took place is not helped by a general absence of situating titles, but that is all part of the reordering of chaos alluded to above. Fortunately the cast carries us by dint of its utter conviction, and the director's assumption that we all know something about physics means that one is never unchallenged.
Country: US/GB
Technical: col/bw/IMAX 180m
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh
Synopsis:
From a student haunted by the destructive potential of sub-atomic particles, to teaching quantum physics at Berkeley, J. Robert Oppenheimer numbers Marxism among his manifold interests before he is recruited by the U.S. military; his mission: to beat Nazi scientists in the race to build a destructive bomb capable of being delivered by the V2.
Review:
Constructing his film according to a schema of gathering narrative threads, cataclysm and then fallout, Nolan has his audience feel like one of Oppenheimer's colliding particles. It is a brave gambit, especially if you find it hard to tune into the dialogue track before the scene changes, since it eschews the customary dynamics of the 'mistreated genius' fabula: astonished teachers, professional preeminence, golden hour, then betrayal/conspiracy. It's a bit like watching JFK in reverse, with the assassination coming near the end. Remembering the order in which the various revisited segments took place is not helped by a general absence of situating titles, but that is all part of the reordering of chaos alluded to above. Fortunately the cast carries us by dint of its utter conviction, and the director's assumption that we all know something about physics means that one is never unchallenged.