From the potent Pink and technicolor splendor of “Barbie” to the black and white and sepia tones of “Oppenheimer”, two directors with unique styles and masterful vision have given us works of cinematic wonder. Two films that could be considered opposites in many ways, have created a sustained swell of crowded movie theaters across the US and Internationally. Surprise hits of the summer, both films are setting records: “Oppenheimer” for the biggest box office numbers for a WWII film and “Barbie” as the first female directed film to achieve a billion-dollar box office success worldwide.
Christopher Nolan is a writer-director who loves presenting puzzles to his audience. His films are complex studies of time and science. They center around one man’s journey that challenges our perceptions of the world. “Oppenheimer” is based on the 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, American Prometheus by Kai Bird & Martin J Sherwin. While the story focuses on J Robert Oppenheimer’s early studies as an American theoretical physicist and his time running the Manhattan Project during World War II, the film also uses two trials as dramatic turning points in the narrative.
Both directors, Gerwig and Nolan, used their big budgets to create practical effects rather than utilizing CGI and green screen for action scenes. They both built huge sets to place the actors in the world of the characters. Shot with IMAX cameras, Nolan tells the story of the man who unleashed the atomic bomb mainly through Oppie’s (Oppenheimer’s nickname) viewpoint. Kodak Film had to create new black and white film stock for the cameras to accommodate Nolan’s storytelling style. Switching from color, Oppie’s vision, to black and white when the story’s point of view is that of Lewis Strauss, Nolan puts us inside Oppenheimer’s thoughts and feelings.
Cillian Murphy gives an Oscar-worthy performance as the man consumed with by his scientific studies and tormented by visions. Murphy is mesmerizing in the role. Oppie was a complex man with his womanizing, his lack of social skills and his fierce determination. As his opponent in the Atomic Energy Commission, Robert Downey Jr turns in a nuanced performance as Strauss, the man who orchestrated Oppie’s fall from grace.
Nolan brings the large (and loud) camera into close proximity to the actors so that every emotion can be scrutinized in the slightest shift of facial expression. Murphy’s face often fills the screen. There’s a large supporting cast with even small roles filled with recognizable actors doing stellar work for the acclaimed director.
Florence Pugh has a pivotal role as Oppie’s mistress. She brings gravitas and energy to the plot in her limited screen time. Emily Blunt plays the aggrieved wife, Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer, but she’s not afforded much background or weight in the story. Matt Damon, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek and Kenneth Branagh all give credible performances. Branagh gives an emotional speech that sums up the gravity of Oppenheimer’s work: “you are the man who gave them the power to destroy themselves and the world is not ready.”
The surprising twist to the film is that the test of the bomb isn’t the climax of the movie. The urgency of the narrative builds with the huge undertaking that is the rush to construct a town and labs in the desert and assemble the teams of great minds. The Trinity Test; the explosion of the test bomb, is secondary to the story of Oppenheimer’s loss of security clearance and thus his sphere of influence. “Oppenheimer” is a morality play about a flawed man who accomplished a horrifying feat and had to live with that knowledge.
It’s great to have two films that subvert audience expectations. Gerwig’s film might look like a piece of summer fluff, but she used toys to present a picture of the unrealistic expectations placed on women. Nolan wrote and directed a biographical thriller that reveals the political maneuvering and flawed humans responsible for the atomic bomb. Both films have a gravitas and an enduring quality that make for repeated viewings.
Drinks With Films Rating: 4 martinis crafted while casually discussing treason (out of 5).
Drinks with films 