Nolan's penchant for non-linear storytelling somewhat ruined this movie for me.
Don't get me wrong, it is just about short of a masterpiece. Character driven, and oh boy, are there some colorful characters in it. From Oppenheimer himself, Groves, Strauss, Tatlock (Pugh, of whom I'm not a massive fan, shone in her dialogue driven scenes, the "other" ones feeling superfluous), to any number of scientists, soldiers and politicians. It's a massive cast of people you'll recognize, most of whom have small roles but all of whom add that something special to the overall project. Hell, one could tell this whole story from the perspective of any of those characters and it would still be an experience to behold, especially with Nolan at the helm. Cinematography doesn't warrant mention, it's exactly what you'd expect. The movie has it all.
While I love Nolan's approach to telling stories, non-linear wasn't the way to go with Oppenheimer. The movie is still amazing, but it would have been better with a simple linear narrative following Oppenheimer from a young student going from school to school while he compiles his knowledge of physics, his tinkering with communism, his life defining inclusion in the Manhattan Project and the subsequent deconstruction of his persona by politicians playing a game on a completely different field from him. It would have worked just fine.
Whoever said movies are dead need only look at movies like this to realize there are still people out there capable of telling a compelling character drive story without anyone having to wear spandex and land in a way that damages the knees.
Review by SwaggerBlockedParent2023-11-11T15:17:34Z
Nolan's penchant for non-linear storytelling somewhat ruined this movie for me.
Don't get me wrong, it is just about short of a masterpiece. Character driven, and oh boy, are there some colorful characters in it. From Oppenheimer himself, Groves, Strauss, Tatlock (Pugh, of whom I'm not a massive fan, shone in her dialogue driven scenes, the "other" ones feeling superfluous), to any number of scientists, soldiers and politicians. It's a massive cast of people you'll recognize, most of whom have small roles but all of whom add that something special to the overall project. Hell, one could tell this whole story from the perspective of any of those characters and it would still be an experience to behold, especially with Nolan at the helm. Cinematography doesn't warrant mention, it's exactly what you'd expect. The movie has it all.
While I love Nolan's approach to telling stories, non-linear wasn't the way to go with Oppenheimer. The movie is still amazing, but it would have been better with a simple linear narrative following Oppenheimer from a young student going from school to school while he compiles his knowledge of physics, his tinkering with communism, his life defining inclusion in the Manhattan Project and the subsequent deconstruction of his persona by politicians playing a game on a completely different field from him. It would have worked just fine.
Whoever said movies are dead need only look at movies like this to realize there are still people out there capable of telling a compelling character drive story without anyone having to wear spandex and land in a way that damages the knees.