Oppenheimer

I was expecting another new world adventure and instead got a wildly edited, plodding three-hour procedural with elements of an inside job at the end. All to the sound of monstrously thumping music and artsy black and white flashbacks. I'm not disputing the dense premise, or the decent performances, but the film only has two sparks in 180 minutes. One when the bomb goes off and the other when the camera is trained on Florence Pugh – with or without clothes on, it doesn't matter, both work. (26/11/2023)

A focused Nolan, a perfect Cillian Murphy and a roaring Ludwig Göransson in a history lesson I've always wanted to see. The suffocating atmosphere, disturbed only by the celebration of the Trinity explosion, sticks to the palate, and at times you feel sick of what could have been. If Hitler hadn't shot himself, they would have dropped the nukes in Europe. Oppenheimer's life of communism, his wives, his nightmares, his friends and his enemies are all engulfing, and for three hours they don't let go, whether it's black and white conversations or the simulation of a nuclear explosion. The horrific ending with Einstein still resonates with me. “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” (25/07/2023)

Barbenheimer, part 2. I wouldn't be afraid to compare Nolan's Oppenheimer to Dominik's Blonde. Both films are adaptations of biographical novels, dealing with generally known topics, bringing back the same stories, the same settings, the same personalities and asking the same questions. Perhaps both films are more formally ambitious, but they don't bring anything new or surprising to the table. Perhaps only the new acting challenges of dealing with images of characters that are culturally rooted and defined. And Nolan of course has the most attractive cast of today, there is no doubt about that. (26/07/2023)

In many ways, it’s exactly the film I expected, in many ways even better. This time Christopher Nolan handles a controversial issue with precision not only as a director but also as a screenwriter, because, though it’s true that in Oppenheimer "they’re always talking", all the monologues and dialogues are written in such a way that you don't drown in them. Yes, their weight may sometimes pull you under the surface for a while, but not for long, because each of those scenes ends with a clearly understandable conclusion, which in turn is the basis for the next scene. The chaos (however affably reckless) of Tenet, which punishes even a few seconds of inattention, is not repeated here. All of this with an incredibly great cast, led by the trio of Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr., in a clever presentation of two different perspectives on the same thing that intersect at the end with a chilling thought that lingered with me for a long time. (21/07/2023)

Nolan is the Dr. Manhattan of contemporary Hollywood. And perhaps will be for another two decades at least. At the peak of his creative powers, he can afford a three-hour conversation colossus, which subjectively lasts a third less, because the level of precision of all creative components is on an absolute level. Actually, even the most coveted gold-plated statue is completely understandable. And yet something is missing. Perhaps a bit of personal passion in front of and behind the camera. Without hesitation, however, this is the only film by the director that I know I will probably never watch again. PS: Sex in the interrogation room is probably the biggest cringe moment in Nolan's filmography. No debate about it. (24/03/2024)