Anmeldelse | Review
Oppenheimer
4 ud af 5 forgiftede æbler
Christopher Nolans biopic om fysikeren J. Robert Oppenheimer, der fik tilnavnet "atombombens fader", er en flot film, der har fået vildt gode anmeldelser, både på Imdb, hvor scoren i skrivende stund er 9.0 (lige så højt som Nolans egen "Dark Knight"), og Rotten Tomatoes, hvor både kritikere og publikum ligger på 94 %. Jeg vil dog tillade mig at dryppe lidt malurt i bægeret og sige, at den med sine tre timer ikke bare er lige lovlig lang, men alt for lang. Jeg vil vove at påstå, at den ville have været endnu bedre, hvis rammefortællingen, der ender med at stjæle opmærksomheden fra hovedhistorien, havde været en time kortere.
Hovedhistorien er naturligvis fortællingen om udviklingen af det dommedagsvåben, der siden 1945 og formentlig til evig tid vil hænge som et damoklessværd over alles hoveder. Vi følger Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) professionelt og privat, fra han som ung professor møder Albert Einstein og Niels Bohr og dyrker omgang (og sex) med jævnaldrende kommunister, til han hyres af militæret og opnår verdensberømmelse med bomberne over Hiroshima og Nagasaki og erkender, hvad det er for et uhyre, han har skabt.
Rammefortællingen beskriver en høring, der i 1954, midt i McCarthyismens æra, ender med, at Oppenheimer bliver frataget den sikkerhedsgodkendelse, militæret gav ham under krigen, da han blev chef for Manhattan-projektet. Som sagt er den alt for lang, og det er efter min mening rigtig ærgerligt, at denne fremragende film ender med tidsrøvende politisk tovtrækkeri og snak, snak, snak om, hvorvidt Oppenheimer var kommunist eller ej. Hans degradering kunne faktisk blot have været nævnt med et slutskilt, som også kunne have fortalt os, at han i 1963 blev taget til nåde igen under John F. Kennedy.
Men denne langstrakte faux pas giver om ikke andet Robert Downey Jr. en chance for en birolleoscarnominering for sin fremragende præstation som Lewis Strauss, chefen for Atomenergikommissionen, der af personlige grunde ønskede at få Oppenheimer ned med nakken. Der er i det hele taget masser af oscarmateriale i filmen, som jeg spår nomineringer i omtrent alle kategorier. Murphy fortjener helt sikkert en statuette for sin sikre portrættering af Oppenheimer, og Emily Blunt bør også hædres for sit portræt af hans hustru Kitty. I køen står ligeledes den allestedsnærværende Florence Pugh (som Oppenheimers elskerinde) og Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, Matt Damon, Jason Clarke, Rami Malek og mange andre stjerner. Klip, cinematografi og musik er også af højeste karat. Det er en grandios film, Nolan har begået denne gang.
Oppenheimer
4 out of 5 poisoned apples
Christopher Nolan's biopic about the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who was nicknamed "The Father of the Atomic Bomb", is a stunning film that has received wildly positive reviews on IMDb, where the score at the time of writing is 9.0 (as high as Nolan's own "The Dark Knight"), as well as Rotten Tomatoes, where both critics and audiences are at 94%. However, I will allow myself to add a drop of poison to the cup, stating that with a runtime of three hours Nolan's movie isn't just a bit long, but too long. I think that it would have been even better if the frame story, which ends up stealing attention from the main plot, had been an hour shorter.
The main plot is of course the story of the development of the doomsday weapon, which since 1945 and probably forever hangs like the sword of Damocles over everyone's heads. We follow Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) professionally and privately, who as a young professor meets fellow quantum physicists Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, befriends communist party members and later is hired by the military, achieves world fame with the bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and realizes what kind of monster he has created.
The frame story is about a McCarthy era hearing that ends with Oppenheimer being stripped of the security clearance that the military gave him during the war when he became chief of the Manhattan Project. As I said, it is too long, and in my opinion it is really a pity that this excellent film ends with time-consuming political tug-of-war and talk, talk, talk about whether Oppenheimer was a communist or not. His demotion could have simply been mentioned with a closing title, which would also have told us that he was rehabilitated in 1963 under John F. Kennedy.
But this faux pas at least gives Robert Downey Jr. a chance for a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his outstanding performance as Lewis Strauss, the head of the Atomic Energy Commission, who for personal reasons wanted to bring Oppenheimer down. There is generally a lot of Academy Award material in this movie, for which I predict nominations in almost all categories. Murphy definitely deserves a golden statue for his confident portrayal of Oppenheimer, and Emily Blunt should also be honored for her performance as the physicist's wife Kitty. Standing in line are also the ubiquitous Florence Pugh (as Oppenheimer's lover) and Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, Matt Damon, Jason Clarke, Rami Malek, Matthew Modine, Dane DeHaan and many other stars. Editing, cinematography as well as soundtrack are also of the highest quality. This time Nolan has certainly created a grand movie.
