Oppenheimer (2023)

Jack and I loved this thirteen-time Oscar nominated masterpiece about the creator of the atomic bomb. The massive cast (nearly 150 by my count) is headed by Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., and Emily Blunt, all deservedly nominated for their roles as Robert Oppenheimer, Kitty Oppenheimer, and Lewis Strauss, respectively. It's been said that Downey put aside his usual charisma for his role of Oppenheimer's antagonist. Matt Damon and Florence Pugh bring their talents and you will recognize many other faces on the screen. Apparently, director Christopher Nolan intentionally chose known actors for many roles to help the audience keep them sorted.

Nolan's screenplay is adapted from the 2005 book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, and Nolan is nominated in both categories as well as producer for the Best Picture nomination.

We even enjoyed the fission/fusion flame sequences, despite their resemblance to what we hated in Tree of Life years ago. The big difference is that here they made sense and were shorter.

I'm streaming Ludwig Göransson's ethereal score on Apple Music as I type and remembering Hoyte Van Hoytema's stunning photography of New Mexico, Switzerland, Princeton University, and the Millennium Biltmore Hotel lobby in Los Angeles. Both men are also nominated and here are the rest: Ruth De Jong's Production Design, Ellen Mirojnick's Costume Design, Editing, Sound, and Makeup and Hair. Thirteen is this year's top number of nominations. 

A few trivia items: Different kinds of film stock were used, including 70mm and the first ever black and white IMAX, made by Kodak. Apparently the real Lewis Strauss was an investment banker who helped finance Kodak in its early days. Also some real scientists were on set as extras. My favorite idea from the previous link is that usually extras are thinking about lunch but these were thinking about the geopolitical implications of nuclear arms. There are so many trivia items on imdb that I couldn't get through them all, but most are fascinating. Hard-core fans can scroll the entire list and watch this New York Times short of Nolan narrating the opening scene.

Murphy was last blogged for The Party, Downey for Avengers: Infinity War, Blunt for Mary Poppins Returns, Damon for Air, Pugh for A Good Person, Nolan for Tenet, Göransson for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Van Hoytema for Dunkirk. 

This is the first Oscar nomination for both De Jong and Mirojnick. The former's credits include nominations from her peers in the Art Directors Guild for Inherent Vice and Manchester by the Sea. Mirojnick was nominated by her Costume Designers Guild peers for Unfaithful (2003), Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the TV movie Behind the Candelabra, The Greatest Showman, and an episode of Bridgerton, among her many achievements.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are blowing up at 93 and 91%. We rented it January 3 on iTunes/Apple TV, but it can be watched on Peacock with a subscription, starting February 16.