review archive
WINNER - BEST MOTION PICTURE (3RD ANNUAL VIZEIT FILM AWARDS)
Cillian Murphy. © 2023 Universal Pictures, Syncopy Inc., and Atlas Entertainment. Directed by Christopher Nolan. Vizeit Reviews is in solidarity with the WGA & SAG, however, SAG will allow film critics to continue their normal movie critiques as usual but with certain restrictions.
Watched it in 70mm Film & in IMAX @ Cinemark
The World Forever Changes World War II was such a critical event in human history. The conflict was so grand that it defied expectations of violence, politics, and the future of the world. All because of one man, J. Robert Oppenheimer. The man who rumbled the earth and the face of Barbenheimer. No pink in the film which sucks but it didn't stop Christopher Nolan from bringing this story come to life in the biggest format possible. Experiencing this film on IMAX and for the second time in an actual 70mm film theater was fantastic. Both formats really brought the story to a grander scale that no biopic film has ever done in years. This is the film that I have been waiting for in 2023 and I'm happy to say that, like in World War II, it destroyed my expectations. Let's go back to 1940s New Mexico, to the vast empty lands and witness together the first nuclear test in history. Story: During World War II, Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves Jr. appointed physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spent years developing and designing the atomic bomb. Their work came to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witnessed the world's first nuclear explosion, forever changing the course of history. Before the first ever footage was released alongside NOPE, I was already hyped to see how Christopher Nolan would tackle a real-life scientist about his work on the atomic bomb. I think the film could've been epic, big, and realistic. Well, after watching the film twice now, I was right. However, this film didn't have a lot of action, but it did have intense dialogue and direction that made the dialogue scenes feel like action scenes. Now that's incredible. Some audience members will be lost during the dialogue sequences but Nolan tries to elevate that with magnificent visuals to keep the audience engaged. However, even if Nolan didn't direct this film, Nolan's screenplay of the film is fantastically written. Since the screenplay book came out, it points out that the film is half objective and subjective. The book also indicates that the color sequences are all in first-person point of view from the perspective of Oppenheimer. All of that together combines an intense screenplay that Nolan or maybe even Oppenheimer would've imagined how these events and moments would be viewed before the bomb. The screenplay takes a deeper look into the relationships between Oppenheimer, his friends and colleagues, and the intricacies of their work as they toiled to create the bomb. The film then follows the trial that happened after the end of the war. One little detail that made Oppenheimer's POV distinctive is the inclusion of Oppenheimer's wife's point of view since she's the only personal attachment to Oppenheimer. Even a tiny bit from Oppenheimer's ex-girlfriend before he met his real wife. Even though the film is heavily on Oppenheimer's view, it changes to the objective point of view through the eyes of Lewis Strauss. However, it's not just his POV, but the real-life facts of Oppenheimer's trial, including how some of the public viewed him during the crucial events. The black & white sequences really brought Oppenheimer into a different view that may change the audience's perspective while watching the film. It's a smart and interesting move that will make the dialogue more action than tension and it opens the life of Lewis Strauss into a lighter or darker side depending on how people view the film. Strauss's scenes felt very villainous and seeing the hardcore facts about the trail felt like a documentary. With the intense dialogue from Strauss and how the scenes were filmed like a documentary, it felt like two movies at once. I really loved that Nolan tried something new from his previous film, especially when he started to change his story structure from Interstellar. Both the color and black & white sequences served to flesh out the differing perspectives that exist within the story. The time-jumps were not confusing to me because of the in-depth research I did around the film, and by the third act, I had started grasping the storytelling technique Nolan was using (you might be aware of his directing style that involves non-linear and anachronistic stories like Memento for example). I started to think that the formats were a tool to distinguish facts from public opinion. It's brilliant in many ways and the way it ends in color with its final scene really impacted the whole message of the entire film. All of this wouldn't happen without Nolan himself. Christopher Nolan elevated the biopic sub-genre into something more epic. A simple biographical story turned into a cinematic action film had never been done in that style before in Hollywood. Especially for this kind of story which includes WWII but does not take place on the frontlines of the bloody war. Nolan directs this film like it's a typical Nolan film but he changes up his style with the two different color formats and also presents this film as a mix of documentary and fiction. Nolan wants to make every scene feel impactful. The way he directs dialogue gives you the impression that you are immersed in an action sequence. That pacing is emphasized by the work of fantastic editor Jennifer Lame (Black Panther, Marriage Story, Tenet). Nolan takes every opportunity to try something new with this film and it keeps working in terms of directing actors. For example, Nolan keeps his supporting actors like background characters for a bit until something critical comes up to them. Plus, he focuses only on tow points of view: Oppenheimer and Lewis Strauss. These two differing views created a connective tissue that made the story easier to follow. Nolan worked not to spread himself too thin. The way Nolan directs his lead actor Cillian Murphy really elevates the character but gives Murphy the chance to try new things and lead the cast. Cillian and Nolan are the real leaders of this film and Nolan takes this opportunity to make a simple story with a packed cast into a cinematic epic that will live on for decades. Besides directing his actors, Nolan changed his visual directing to a whole new level. Sometimes, Nolan operates the camera and goes crazy in his visual direction. More than any Nolan film, there are a lot of close-ups and wide shots and there's a reason why. Since this is about Oppenheimer, the film leans into the psychological side and Nolan captures tight close-ups of Oppenheimer to capture his feelings. Not only that, Nolan mixes in practical effect shots of the nuke, radiation, and other scientific elements to show what Oppenheimer is really thinking and make certain scenes more intense without any action elements. Nolan also utilized epicness in the most critical scene of the entire film which was the Trinity test. That scene alone really elevated the scope of the film after the test sequence and set the biopic sub-genre to its peak. The scope itself brought the film to new territories that no filmmaker had ever encountered before. It's quite a challenge for Nolan but he managed to bring a huge action-level scope into a grounded biopic film by making smaller scenes feel personal, bigger dialogue scenes shot like an action film, and emotional scenes feel like documentary yet cinematic. It's all the flavors into one and Nolan balanced it out very well to make this film stand out from just a normal war story into a once-in-a-lifetime event film that has to be seen in the biggest theater possible. I'm happy that Nolan took this story into an epic but he cannot do it without the special use of his good old IMAX cameras and his collaborator since Interstellar.
Nolan really loves to use his IMAX 70mm film cameras and it was expected that he will use those cameras again for this film. However, since it was a biopic, it would be an interesting challenge for Nolan to take on. However, Nolan's frequent DP, Hoyte van Hoytema, really took Oppenheimer's visuals to a whole new level and made it feel as authentic as possible. Hoytema used the IMAX format in new territory that IMAX had never explored. The biggest one being the use of B&W film in IMAX 70mm film. Kodak collaborated with IMAX to create it for this film and it looks absolutely fantastic, especially on IMAX 70mm film or on standard 70mm B&W film. Since there were no action scenes with the exception of the nuclear test sequence, the IMAX scenes were used constantly during wider shots and important dialogue sequences. The shallow depth of field really supported the huge scale of the film and the gritty look of Oppenheimer tailed what Nolan envisioned for the visual storytelling. Not only that, but the audio in IMAX is also very explosive and great. I'll go a bit in-depth with the general audio later on but in the IMAX format, it was definitely very loud. Especially during the nuclear test sequence which is the main selling point of the IMAX experience. Overall, the IMAX image looks unreal, however, after seeing the film in both standard IMAX and 70mm film, I would say 70mm is the way to go. The 70mm film image looks clear and crisp with unique colors different from standard digital. While it's not a bigger image, I was still sucked into the story with the beautiful raw cinematography and feeling that it was taken back in the 1940s. Watching a film in a real 70mm film feels very different from IMAX and I'm glad I saw both. Hoytema really stepped up his game with this film and I cannot wait to see what he will innovate next with IMAX and the future of film.
Funny that I haven't even got to the performance because that's where the heat of the film is really located. From the moment that Cillian Murphy was announced as the lead, I was immediately hooked on what type of cast Nolan would take on. Every month until the release of the film, a lot of big talented, and recognizable rising stars took onto the film, and in the end, it became one of the biggest ensemble casts of all time. This huge ensemble cast is fantastic on every level. Everyone in this cast did an amazing job or gave their best performance in their careers. Nolan really pushed everyone to their limits through their respective characters and it shows that through their chemistry with Oppenheimer or other characters around. Before we get to Cillian's performance and character, the supporting cast really brought the background to life and made Cillian's performance more impactful than ever. One of the standouts would be Josh Hartnett's performance as Ernest Lawrence. His performance really shined and his friendship with Oppenheimer was the strongest. Easily Hartnett's best career performance and that includes many other actors in the film. Tom Conti as Albert Einstein was surprisingly very good and he had quite some screentime than I expected. I enjoyed Gary Oldman's quick cameo as President Truman since he is a frequent collaborator with Nolan in The Dark Knight trilogy. I loved Benny Safdie's performance including the other scientists in the room with Oppenheimer like Jack Quaid, Josh Peck, David Krumholtz, and many others. The government personnel as well including standout performances from Dane DeHaan, Jason Clarke, and obviously Matt Damon. There are so many recognizable actors in the film that it felt like a genuine real old cameo. Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer's wife was also fantastic and I can easily see her snagging an Oscar nomination soon. Florence Pugh's chemistry with Cillian Murphy's character was also solid but I wish we could've got more of her on-screen. Yet, for the time she was given, it was great! Matt Damon really brought his A-game into the film and I was surprised the given screen-time he had. He did a terrific job of bringing this character into a likable view with Oppenheimer and his friendship with Oppenheimer was also very great. The main antagonist Lewis Strauss, played by Robert Downey Jr., was absolutely amazing and it's Downey's best performance in his career and probably since Tropic Thunder. His character attempts to crush Oppenheimer but with the counter results in the final act, the way he takes it was so satisfying which elevated Downey's performance and what future will his real-life character will take into. Overall, the supporting cast is fantastic but we cannot forget the main lead which is Cillian Murphy himself as Oppenheimer. Murphy really delivered a career performance with his complex representation of a real-life person that shaped not just the war but the future itself. He is in almost every scene in the film and it's surrounding him. He is at the forefront of the creation of the bomb. It feels like this is the true Oppenheimer on-screen and Murphy made sure that his character stays true to its core. It's phenomenal and easily the best performance of the decade so far. So much work to bring this character to life, however, Murphy took it very seriously and in the end, he was born to play this role. I'm so happy that he finally got his chance to shine as the main role in this epic Nolan film. Even though the actors and the director are at the forefront of this epic film, the whole production team really put all of their effort into creating a beautiful production that looks straight out of the 1940s. Bringing these events to life isn't easy for the big screen but the fantastic film crew really made it as authentic and epic as possible. The production design is fantastic with the recreation of Los Alamos and bringing the nuclear test site to life. Everything is almost practical and the costume design here is flawless. I really liked Oppenheimer's different clothing he wore during his time and seeing each period changing through sets, clothing, and props. I'm glad that Nolan relocated the budget to the sets to make the film as authentic as possible. The make-up is also very well done, especially during the final act of the film. As I mentioned earlier, the editing is great for this type of film and it kept the pacing strong throughout the film. The music is absolutely jaw-dropping. Ludwig Göransson's music really elevates certain moments in the film to fill that epicness bubble and to create a feeling that this is an event that will change the future. His rhythmic style is still present to create this intense feeling and by the end of the film, you would immediately play the entire soundtrack and recognize which music was composed for a certain scene. Lastly, the practical effects and VFX here are amazing and I'm happy that the bomb recreation was all practical with some VFX to bring up the energy on screen. Overall, the production is fantastic and I'm happy to see Nolan utilizing every penny on screen to make this film as authentic and epic as possible on a $100 million dollar budget. Now that's dedication. I cannot forget the sound design which is a controversial thing now in Nolan films. This time, however, it was much better than Tenet, and seeing this film in IMAX was definitely a huge improvement. Even though I really love this film, I still have some issues which is typical. The third act really started to take it slow with its story but it didn't ruin the overall pacing of the film. There are some moments that could've been shortened or cut out completely but I was still invested in them. I can't think of another flaw but overall, this film was epic from beginning to end. Christopher Nolan delivers another bombastic epic film with fantastic career performances, beautiful IMAX cinematography, and fantastic production design to bring Oppenheimer's story come to life! This was an absolute ride from start to finish and I was floored by every aspect of this film. The scope is bigger since Interstellar and this is Nolan's best film since The Dark Knight. One of the best cinematic experiences in a theater and on top of that, doing the Barbeheimer double feature was very special. I cannot wait to see what Christopher Nolan will cook next for the future of cinema. Now Playing Only in Theaters and in IMAX 70mm! (selected cinemas around the world) Vizeit Score: "A+"
(Share this review with your film friends and on social media! Thank you for continuing supporting my indie cinema website.)
Copyright © 2023 Vizeit Reviews / Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr. Editor In-Chief/Owner of Vizeit Reviews | (Chicago Indie Critics Member [CIC])
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
Copyright © 2024 Vizeit Reviews. All Rights Reserved. |