Oppenheimer biographer Kai Bird shares a glowing review for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming historical epic about the creation of the atom bomb.
Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer gets a glowing review from historian Kai Bird, who wrote the biography upon which the film is based. Starring Cillian Murphy as American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, Nolan's upcoming historical epic chronicles the creation of the world's first atomic bomb during World War II. Nolan drew heavily from Bird's book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Ahead of the Oppenheimer release date, Bird reveals in a recent interview with the Institute for Advanced Study that he's already seen the film. While he's unable to give any elements of the film away, the biographer was evidently blown away by the experience and shares a positively glowing review. Check out his full comment or watch the video interview below (relevant section begins at 21:03):
“I am, at the moment, stunned and emotionally recovering from having seen it. I think it is going to be a stunning artistic achievement, and I have hopes it will actually stimulate a national, even global conversation about the issues that Oppenheimer was desperate to speak out about — about how to live in the atomic age, how to live with the bomb and about McCarthyism — and about what it means to be a patriot, and what is the role for a scientist in a society drenched with technology and science, to speak out about public issues.”
Oppenheimer continues a Nolan tradition, with the filmmaker frequently interested in exploring scientific principles or natural laws. While films like Interstellar, Tenet, and even Inception did this with a science-fiction flair, Oppenheimer, on the other hand, appears to be his most serious and grounded film yet. With Bird having dedicated much of his life to the study of the history of atomic weapons and to Oppenheimer himself, his review suggests that audiences could be in for a very different Nolan experience.
Other than Dunkirk, Oppenheimer will mark the filmmaker's first major exploration of real-life history. Unlike his World War II epic, however, his latest film is focused almost exclusively on the life and career of one man. Considering a historian like Bird would likely be extra sensitive to changes to real events or a warping of history for the sake of entertainment, his positive review suggests that Nolan has kept everything very true to life.
Speaking to the fact that this could be Nolan's most mature and grounded movie yet is the fact that Oppenheimer is rated R. This suggests that the movie will be more than just a surface-level exploration of the theoretical physicist but a deep dive into the darker and more serious aspects of his life. Not only that, but Bird's review suggests that Oppenheimer will be so effective with its portrayal of the atomic bomb and about the dark sides of scientific advancement that it could spark important dialogue about similar issues humanity faces today.
Source: Institute For Advanced Study/ YouTube
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