OPPENHEIMER

by Sam Elkins content editor

I want you to think about World War II. The men in uniform, defending our country on the battlefield fighting the Nazis and the Japanese. The battle of good and evil with the Axis and Allied powers. Now stay on that train of thought but shift it slightly to the thought of how the war ended. The Germans had already surrendered, and the war became a battle against the Japanese. How did we win the war? One man brought together the greatest scientific minds in the country to make the most horrific weapon of war known to date: the atom bomb. Renowned director Christopher Nolan took some of Hollywood’s greatest actors and tackled one of the biggest events in all of history in his biopic titled Oppenheimer. This cinematic work of art wasn’t just about the bomb; it was about the minds behind it, as the film focuses primarily on theoretical physicist Robert J. Oppenheimer.

The film starts in a weird spot. It opens with the security conference as a result of the bombings in Japan and slowly creeps towards the main plot of Dr. Oppenheimer gathering scientists for a secret weapon to end the Second World War. The film does this a lot, jumping from Oppenheimer’s security conference to personal interviews about Oppenheimer and his trial, to the main plot of how the bomb was created as the film progresses. It goes so far as to show every detail about Oppenheimer, even his affair, which was a very big part of his personal life and mentioned quite a few times throughout the film due to how it tainted his reputation.

Another timeline featured in the movie discusses the possible communism that could have taken place due to Oppenheimer’s past, including the possibility of a spy in Los Alamos. Also featured are the security clearings for Oppenheimer to determine if he should be put in jail or prison for his horrifying creation.

The film moves into the recruitment of Oppenheimer for the infamous Manhattan Project where the movie’s main plot takes place. Teamed with General Leslie Groves, the two made a town in the middle of New Mexico named Los Alamos, where the scientists on the Manhattan project would work at creating the Atomic Bombs to end World War II. With this came the “Trinity Test,” which was the first real attempt at atomic weaponry and gave the scientists a chance to look at what they were truly building and what this atomic weapon would lead to. With the success of the Trinity Test, the atomic bomb had become real. The bombs were given to the military and President Truman, and the first two atomic bombs to ever hit the military’s hands were used to destroy two large pivotal cities in Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Nolan’s film can only be described as a perfect recreation of the events that took place in this time period, as the cast matches just as well as the events do. Looking at side by side photos of Cillian Murphy in his performance as Robert J. Oppenheimer versus the real man himself reveals uncanny similarities, not to mention Brad Pitt as General Leslie Groves and even Oppenheimer’s wife Kitty, played by Emily Blunt.

Although the film is a war movie, it doesn’t actually show the audience any combat. It’s an experience in itself to watch; in fact, the release of both Oppenheimer and Barbie on the same day led to moviegoers attending the two films back to back, dubbed “Barbenheimer.” Audiences took to social media, creating memes and posts surrounding the trend and inspiring others to see these polar-opposite films. Even without the Barbenheimer phenomenon, Oppenheimer is not just a movie but a unique recollection of the story behind the atomic bomb pulled straight out of a history book. //