Oppenheimer (2023), directed by Christopher Nolan

Physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, ‘father of the Atomic bomb’, is a polarising historical figure, who rode a rollercoaster of adulation and vilification. This film depicts how his early left wing leanings and Jewish background fuelled a genuine opposition to Nazism and led naturally to his wartime work on the bomb. His earnest belief seemed to be that dropping the A-bomb would end all war because the consequences were so horrific. The end would justify the means. His post-war work to influence US policy in this direction was also an attempt to assuage his conscience about the destruction his work wreaked. Combined with his early communist sympathies, this put him at odds with McCarthyist America. The film’s structure is odd, starting with what eventually becomes clear to be his downfall and flashing back and forward in time throughout. Apart from the war years of the Manhattan project, the exact time period is never entirely clear and for some reason the latest time period is shot in black and white. Famous figures of physics abound in a dizzying array that barely allows time for recognition in a feature film, even one that is three hours long. The story could probably have been better told in a limited series format. That said, Nolan uses VFX well to help explain quantum physics to a general audience whose closest point of reference is likely the Big Bang Theory. The stellar cast is excellent and Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr are exceptional and deserving of their Oscars. But while interesting the film as a whole is overlong and overhyped. Its most useful purpose is to point the way to discovering more about a fascinating character in a crucial period of history. It also serves as a timely reminder that US politics has always been fucked.