Oppenheimer (part 1)

#142: My experience with the book and movie and why I think the movie will win many Oscars.

Happy Oscars weekend, readers!

This post has been intimidating me for months so I decided to divide it up and send in two parts. After finishing the 26-hour audiobook of American Prometheus and watching the 3-hour film way back in August 2023, I needed some time to process. Lots of time, apparently. But with the Oscars around the corner, it’s now or never!

For today’s part 1, I want to talk about my reading experience and viewing experience, what my first impressions were, what has stuck with me, and why I think Oppenheimer is going to win a lot of awards.

For part 2 (coming soon) I’ll do a deeper dive into the adaptation, discuss some background info on the film, and analyze the structure of the film and a couple key scenes.

My reading & viewing experiences

I live in Denver which is dead center of a large swath of the United States that I’m calling “IMAX Wasteland.” We have fake IMAX (“LieMAX”) at our local AMC, which was projecting the film in 70 mm, but I needed the true 70 mm IMAX experience.

The red dots are the true IMAX theaters in the US. I’m about infinity miles away from each of them.

Fate stepped in: My family went on vacation in Anaheim. A true IMAX theater was 20 minutes away in Irvine! The movie gods smiled on me and I booked my ticket.

The screen is truly massive. Now that’s IMAX.

By this point, I had hit a wall on the audiobook after listening to the first 20 hours. There are lots of names to keep straight and the Chevalier affair, which is equal parts pivotal and banal, is discussed in detail. I confess I zoned out at times such that the first test of the bomb snuck up on me and I had to go back and re-listen. It’s a fantastic book that I highly recommend, but I was in a slump and needed motivation to finish.

As soon as the movie started, I felt motivated again. I also felt a distinct advantage over other filmgoers who hadn’t read the book. Remember all those names in the book to keep straight? Nolan included all of them. There are about 5 dozen named characters and nearly all of them are played by “Hey, it’s that guy!” actors.

Courtesy: All About Cinema’s Facebook page

When I exited the theater three hours later, I wished it had been longer and that there had been a pause button. I wanted to freeze certain shots and moments so I could take it all in and study every detail. It was a cinematic experience like no other.

First Impressions

I’m telling you, each scene looked astounding. There isn’t a wasted frame in this movie and director Christopher Nolan and cinematographer Hoyt Van Hoytema took full advantage of the IMAX format. Which feels weird to say since it’s mostly people in rooms talking, but each frame had depth, texture, and vibrancy.¹

The film is long, but it moves. The way it was edited propelled the story forward at a brisk pace and I was never bored.

It only took another day or two to cruise through the last 6 hours of the audiobook. I was hooked on the story and the adaptation. I was intrigued by how much money the movie was making at the box office and the reports of it breaking projectors.

What stuck

I’ll discuss this more in part 2, but what has stuck with me is how both book and film tell the story from the perspective of Oppenheimer, the scientist. I finished the book fully convinced that we could have avoided dropping the bomb and that our frigid relationship with Russia, an ally, led to avoidable decisions. I had strong anti-military feelings and felt mislead by whatever/whoever it was that convinced me two atomic bombs were the only way to end the war.²

Awards Darling

I have a few more movies to watch before the ceremony on Sunday, but I’m predicting this wins the Academy Award for best picture, adapted screenplay, actor, supporting actor, and director. It is possible it also wins cinematography, score, and editing. I’d much rather see award love spread around so let’s hope that happens instead.

What were your first impressions of Oppenheimer? What has stuck with you since seeing it?

Thanks for reading,

Kyle

1. There’s a memorable shot in black and white of Robert Downey Jr. sitting in a chair and the camera does a slow zoom and I thought “How do they do that? That looks hyper real!”

2. Obviously there are other perspectives and opinions, including that of the military and President Truman. I’m not saying my feelings were correct or based on all the facts, just that after spending so much time in Oppenhimer’s shoes in the book, I was riled up for a while.