Oppenheimer is undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited film of the summer season, along with Barbie, released on the same day in cinemas, July 19. This historical thriller, written and directed by Christopher Nolan, follows the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who led the Manhattan Project, which produced the first atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy plays Oppenheimer, whileEmily Blunt plays his wife Katherine. The film is based on the novel American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.
Our verdict
Christopher Nolan's message is clear from the introduction: 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 was not 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 simple biopic like the dozens we see every year, but in 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.
Films Incontournables UGC 2024: the best films of 2023 back in cinemas for €5
Les Films Incontournables UGC is aptly named, as it features the best films of the past year. The new edition of this must-see event takes place from January 10 to 23, 2024, in some 15 cinemas in the Paris region. Good news: tickets are only 5 euros. It's also an opportunity to meet and talk with some of the directors. Here's the program! [Read more]
Not sure which film to see today? Well, we've got plenty of films to show near you. [Read more]
Films Incontournables UGC 2024: the best films of 2023 back in cinemas for €5
Cinema: which film to see today, this Sunday April 28th, 2024?
