Oppenheimer: A Worthy Epic

Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer

I saw Oppenheimer yesterday. Some thoughts:

The story was made into an epic which seems appropriate given the scope of Oppenheimer’s life, the significance of what he did, the personalities, many famous, who he encountered and how his story reflects the times in which he lived.

Robert Oppenheimer was many things. He was the guiding genius behind the most destructive weapon ever created. So destructive that it has altered the way we perceive war and engage in it. It is a weapon that risks life on Earth. Yet he did not set out to make such a device nor did he want there to be such power vested in the military or their superiors in government. He was a man of strong liberal leanings. Strong enough that he was labeled a Communist as were many prominent leftists of his era. Ultimately he was a victim of the McCarthy-like witch hunts that plagued the United States for nearly two decades after World War II.

He was also a large personality. Loved and reviled by many. He was brilliant, arrogant, a womanizer, an intellectual. He was — and the movie is very good in conveying this — an enormously complex man who was ever introspective. He spoke his mind but he listened to others who did likewise.

Today he is many things to many people. He is the evil who created the bomb, he is a victim of a red-hating bureaucracy. He is the genius whose efforts to stop Nazism were appropriated to wipe out hundreds of thousands of Japanese and make the world forever on edge.

The film gives us a complete picture of Oppenheimer, not aggrandizing or apologetic or critical. Audiences are left to draw their own conclusions. The picture works in large part because of Cillian Murphy who, contrary to my initial reaction to his casting, is letter perfect for the lead role. Mostly he has the face, that incredible face that told so much while keeping so many secrets. He also has the voice, which was so intelligent and interesting with its odd inflections. I can’t imagine anyone doing a better job.

It was nice to see Robert Downey Jr. and his prodigious acting talents back in a non-comic book movie. His talents were wasted (as are so many others’) prancing about in costumes in front of green screens. This film reminds us of the brilliant actor from Zodiac, Wonder Boys, Home for the Holidays, Chaplin, and Good Night and and Good Luck.

The supporting cast includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Casey Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Alden Ehrenreich, Kenneth Branagh, David Krumholtz, Gary Oldham, Matthew Modine, Benny Safdie, Rami Malek and Olivia Thirlby. That’s a lot of talent and together they were as one would expect. (Interesting to note that Oldham played Harry Truman. Previously he had portrayed Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, which means if they made a film about the Potsdam Conference he could play two of the three leads. For that matter maybe he could play Stalin too.)

I saw Oppenheimer at the Elmwood Theater in Berkeley. It is our city’s only remaining movie house (not counting the Pacific Film Archives which does not generally show first-run films). It is a classic old theater that used to boast a balcony. Sadly the upstairs balcony area has been converted to have two small screens which have walls thin enough that you can often hear loud sounds from the neighboring screens.

But the Elmwood (part of Berkeley’s Elmwood district where I lived from 1997-2013) still retains much of the charms of the old movie-going era. I’m so glad that it is still a going concern but there are fears that it is hanging on by the skin of its teeth. Two local theaters have closed in the last few months to go along with the several that shuttered during or soon after the pandemic. I was proud to bypass the huge AMC cineplex to see Oppenheimer and I was glad to see others do the same.

One of the draws for those of us in Berkeley is that several scenes were shot on the University of California campus (Go Bears!). The campanile was used as an establishing shot.

I went to the Elmwood about a dozen times last year and even for much ballyhooed movies that were just opening, the audience was sparse. Not so yesterday when the theater was about eighty per cent full.

Sadly two of the patrons sitting a few seats down from me were most unclear on the concepts of attending a film among other people. First the female got out her phone and studied it for a few seconds. Then she and her companion whispered and finally they whispered and both looked at her phone. I let my feelings be known before moving a few rows up thus avoiding any more of their rude behavior. Everyone else around me sat silently watching the film. Not a tough ask.

And it was a damn good film to watch. It’s three hours but breezed by. Compelling stories do that and full marks to Christopher Nolan who I’ve never been a fan of. Maybe this signals a new direction for his talents. I certainly hope.

I also hope for more thought-provoking films to come out of Hollywood, although the on-going writer and actor strikes may delay that.

I’ll sum up my feelings on Oppenheimer the movie by saying that immediately after seeing it I walked to a bookstore and bought a copy of the book upon which it is based. I couldn't have imagined not buying it.