OPPENHEIMER
Christopher Nolan's latest history-themed blockbuster is an artistic triumph
Certificate: 15 Director: Christopher Nolan Cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon Released: Out now
Genius is no guarantee of wisdom.” If there's a single line of dialogue in Christopher Nolan's biopic about the life of J Robert Oppenheimer that hits the bullseye, it is this one. Oppenheimer, that American Prometheus who led the scientists at Los Alamos into shepherding in the age of the atom bomb was a genius undoubtedly, but our potential for self-annihilation weighs heavily on the film, lending it a profound sense of dread, a painful awareness that the culmination of three centuries' worth of pioneering physics turned out to be all about horror and destruction (talk about a pyrrhic victory).
Shot on 70mm with IMAX cameras, using both colour and monochrome stock to delineate timelines (pre-war and post-war), (2023), Nolan's latest cinematic endeavour, is another thoroughly gripping. The exquisite movie-making craft on display is what we've come to expect from a master filmmaker like Nolan. This is at times a blockbuster that plays out like a grand symphony of images (the test sequence is of course a centrepiece moment), its visual power is truly mighty. Also for a film centred on unlocking the scientific mysteries of our universe, the 70mm stock cleverly lends a fitting spectral, radiating glow to the imagery. If there's an opportunity to see this in its optimum 70mm format, take it.
