Film Review – Oppenheimer

There is some interesting bravery involved in the production of “Oppenheimer,” with writer/director Christopher Nolan using his power in Hollywood to get a major studio to finance and release a three-hour-long examination of atomic bomb development, unleashing it in the middle of the summer moviegoing season. Now there’s a flex one doesn’t see every day, and the picture certainly reflects a steely concentration from Nolan to deliver an extended study of a complex man and his dealings with military, marital, and political forces during a turbulent time in American history. “Oppenheimer” tries to combat the bigness of the production with a depiction of highly internalized behavior brewing within a carefully composed man. Nolan does his Nolan thing with the endeavor, but he’s also making an Oliver Stone film in a way, highlighting the sinister ways of scientific breakthroughs and the poundings of government conspirators, playing with time, color, and a Boys Town-sized cast of actors trying to make themselves seen in a lengthy effort that mostly features men talking. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com