Cillian Murphy plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant physicist who led the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb. Although this film details that effort, there’s a wider story about politicians’ efforts to undermine his achievements with accusations of his Communist leanings. Murphy grounds the story with an intense characterization and he’s surrounded by an impressive cast of strong performances. But this is really director Christopher Nolan’s show. His manipulation of media to create powerful moments is undeniable and there are several memorable sequences like that here. While the complex story is always compelling, it could have been a shorter than 3 hours and Nolan’s investigation leans more on the cerebral than the emotional. As a result, this landmark story is told with powerful facts and skilled filmmaking. BTW, the closing credits are relatively short because Nolan doesn’t like CGI effects, so that long list of animators/designers isn’t there. 
(4.5 / 5)
