"Oppenheimer" is one of director Christopher Nolan's more straightforward films,
but even this historical biopic takes some dramatic license and
makes some choices that may have filmgoers scratching their heads.
Nolan is no stranger to depicting time in unique ways, and "Oppenheimer" is a great example of
that. The film is told through two distinct timelines: one focused on Oppenheimer's rise
and another looking at Lewis Strauss' attempts to tear his rival down. To distinguish the two,
Nolan depicts Oppenheimer's view in color while Strauss' is in black and white. This could be
to make it clearer to audiences that these storylines aren't happening at the same time,
but it feels like Nolan is attempting to do something more with this. What he's trying
to accomplish is so unclear, though, that Nolan had to explain it before the film even released.
Nolan talked with The Associated Press about
the significance of using black and white to denote perspective, saying,
"I knew that I had two timelines that we were running in the film. One is in color,
and that's Oppenheimer's subjective experience. Then the other is a black and white timeline. It's
a more objective view of his story from a different character's point of view."
While this explanation does clear up what Nolan was going for, that concept of subjective
versus objective doesn't necessarily come through in the film. Ultimately,
the choice makes things a little murky both thematically and in terms of storytelling.
Throughout "Oppenheimer," the title character has small visions that somewhat foreshadow his
eventual rise in quantum physics as well as his creation of the atomic bomb. From stars
spread across rooms that Oppenheimer is in, to the rings of a nuclear model moving in front of him,
Nolan uses some mind-bending visuals backed by some incredibly thrilling sound design.
"Oppenheimer sees things in, sort of, different dimensions."
While these moments add to the visually stunning nature of the film,
the visions do make things a tad confusing, since what they are is
never really explained. Are they simply meant to foreshadow Oppenheimer's future? Is it a
look into Oppenheimer's mental state? Or are they tied to a greater force in the universe?
At one point, a scientist character mentions that some people are capable of seeing the
quantum realm, where subatomic particles are visible. So maybe these scenes are meant to
hint at Oppenheimer's growing connection to the subatomic world with which he would
eventually interact. If that is the case, it's something that kind of breaks the more
realistic tone throughout the rest of the film. The visuals in these sequences are really cool,
but they also may leave some audience members wondering what they were all about.
The film sees Oppenheimer bring together the most talented and knowledgeable physicists
he can find, so it's no surprise that they constantly use scientific jargon.
"You know isotopes, and you know explosives."
"But you can't tell us what you're doing."
In most of the team's discussions, scientific terms get thrown around with regularity as
they make new discoveries and start new tests. Even for viewers who don't
know quantum physics all that well, the group flexing their knowledge adds some fascinating
intrigue to the scenes and even raises the stakes in certain moments. That said,
their constant use of science jargon doesn't help viewers who haven't taken some
high-level science classes even remotely understand what they're talking about.
Instead of explaining what some of these terms mean or breaking down the concepts on display,
the characters freely talk as if general audiences have any idea what they're
discussing. Although these conversations are likely meant to simply immerse viewers in the
moment and the perspectives of the characters, it is likely to make some viewers feel lost.
There are moments where you almost want to raise your hand and ask questions because
these characters are talking about concepts that are totally going over everyone's head.
When Oppenheimer first arrives at Berkeley, he looks to create more interest among the
student body in quantum physics. But he's only able to get one student to initially
join his class. Eventually, Oppenheimer's class begins to grow, and he's even able to amass such
a strong enough following that scientific and political discussions begin blossoming around
campus. That makes for a compelling story about Oppenheimer's burgeoning influence,
but it's hard to believe that only one student would be inclined to attend his class, or that
the class would be allowed to continue with a roster of just one. By the time Oppenheimer
is at Berkeley, he's already started to make a name for himself in the science community,
so his presence would surely get more people to come to his class out of sheer curiosity.
Sure, Quantum Physics wasn't necessarily a popular subject at the time, but with a rising talent like
Oppenheimer in front of the class, it seems like more people definitely would've shown up on the
first day. And, again, why would Berkeley let the class continue with just one student? The
dramatic effect is there, but think about it too long, and questions begin to pop up.
Oppenheimer first meets Jean Tatlock at a party, and it's instantly clear that
they have an attraction, and maybe some sort of fated connection. But their relationship never
really forms into anything meaningful and, to be honest, it's a perplexing part of Oppenheimer's
story. The film doesn't necessarily do a great job adding depth or meaning to Oppenheimer's romantic
relationships, and his dynamic with Jean is mostly just confusing. Why is he so drawn to her when she
just constantly pushes him away and throws his flowers in the garbage? It's mostly just
a physical relationship, and they rarely show any signs of being anything more than hook-up buddies.
The film tries to characterize their relationship as something more but
never provides the context or insight to make viewers feel like there's something else there.
By the time Oppenheimer and Jean really show any real emotion towards each other,
it's too late, and this storyline is cut short. It's barely even brought up in the
film's second half. The relationship ends up as a plot thread that's left hanging and unclear.
As Oppenheimer begins work on his secret project, there's a lot of stress in his
household. One night, Oppenheimer returns home to the sounds of his child crying. His wife,
Kitty, is worn out from doing all the child care by herself. Instead of being a good
father and trying to resolve the situation himself, Oppenheimer opts instead to abandon
his kid for a while by taking him to Chevalier's so that he can take care
of the baby. It's a pretty unheroic moment for the film's title character, to say the least.
Maybe this story beat is meant to show Oppenheimer's growing obsession with the project,
or hint that his two lives are growing even further apart. It's still a bizarre moment,
and it's even weirder that Chevalier and Kitty never bring it up again,
nor does anyone else. It's not surprising to see Oppenheimer be a little cold or uncaring
towards his family, since that's kind of who he's shown to be at times, but
this choice stretches that idea a little too far without delivering any meaningful ramifications.
As the big test for the bomb Oppenheimer and his team are crafting nears, there's some
reasonable concern that the US government could cause harm to civilians with it.
"You're the man who gave them the power to destroy themselves."
Later, when the government uses the bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
to end World War II in the Pacific, Oppenheimer, understandably, starts to feel guilt and maybe
even has some regrets about his creation. However, his belief that the bomb was going to be solely
used on the Germans was very faulty. It kind of doesn't make sense when he claims to think that
he didn't know what the government was going to do with the bomb after Germany surrendered.
Maybe Oppenheimer's denial that the bomb would be used is just a way for him not to feel
responsible for what happened and still feel proud of his creation. But it seems like he's
smarter than that, and that he'd have some sort of awareness that if he and his team made the bomb,
it'd be used at some point. His whole "we don't make the choice on how the bomb gets
used" mentality just feels like an excuse to not feel responsible for the deaths of thousands. It's
likely that the book the film is based on, "American Prometheus: The Triumph and
Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer," digs further into these mental gymnastics, but the film's
depiction ultimately feels like an incredibly smart man playing dumb to avoid feeling bad.
Oppenheimer's relationship with Kitty is equally as bizarre as his relationship with Jean since
there's such little emotional connection between them that viewers are left wondering
why they stay together. Their relationship is barely shown in the film and by the end,
it feels like there are more reasons for them to break up than to stay together.
After all, Oppenheimer has multiple affairs during their marriage,
isn't really around to help the family out, and even uproots his family to the
testing site. They barely look like they're in love throughout the film,
so it's kind of strange how Kitty just stays and even defends Oppenheimer later on.
Maybe she's just forced to stay with him for security reasons since she could likely know
what's going on with the bomb. But that seems a little lofty. Also, it's not like she hasn't
left a relationship before, since she got divorced so that they could be together and
she even stated that she wasn't exactly thrilled to be a housewife when they first got together.
Kitty has all the reasons and history to leave Oppenheimer but never does,
which is one of the most confusing parts of the entire film.
Throughout all the black and white scenes, it's clear that Strauss is
desperately trying to tarnish Oppenheimer's reputation and make him seem dangerous to
the US government. It's eventually made clear that he's concocted quite a revenge
plan to take his former rival down for good, but it just seems so needlessly complicated.
From him having to appear publicly to dispute Oppenheimer to the backroom trial,
there are just so many moving pieces and players involved that it's tough
to believe that Strauss pulled this all together without anyone noticing.
Government secrets leak all the time, and despite there being security clearance needed for almost
everything, surely someone was going to spoil Strauss's fun. With his plan being so elaborate,
it's kind of no wonder that it all fell apart in the end and backfired on him.
Strauss attempts to show himself to be a mastermind like his rival but
ends up with egg on his face. It's not surprising, since his overly complicated
plan never really seems possible or easy to follow in the first place.
After Oppenheimer’s atom bomb devastates Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he feels responsible for the carnage
and reveals to President Truman that he has blood on his hands. His martyrdom in the later parts of
the film may reflect his desire for forgiveness. However, if he felt so bad about what happened,
why does he continue to consult and work on future atomic projects? Why doesn't he just quit?
Surely others might've followed in his footsteps or the government would've had
to bend a little bit to keep him around since Oppenheimer was a widely recognized name by
this point and a crucial part of the project's success. Instead, he just decides to continue
his work even though he knows it could be used for destructive and deadly purposes.
Oppenheimer's sense of guilt is certainly a flimsy part of his character. Maybe he felt
that he had to stay on so he could keep tabs on these projects so nothing worse could happen.
History offers insight into these questions, but within the confines of the film, Oppenheimer's
continuing work on the US atomic project is a very confusing aspect of his character.