This film is a very well-done biopic which actually weaves a complex biography with an assumption that an intelligent audience will understand the story and stick with it. It works in more ways than seem possible given not just the man but the controversy and topics it covers.
When a modern person watches this, they should realize early on the difference between an FDR New Deal Democrat and todays Democratic Party which abandoned FDR's policies starting in 1983 if not sooner. Oppenheimer is well represented in this picture as the FDR guy. While he wound up in charge of a project so fated to change the world, he did understand the kind of strength needed to not just think outside the box, but why it was important to do so.
The controversy of his life is covered well, with the affairs, the people around him who were Communists. Then there is J. Edgar Hoover's FBI spys worried about where his loyalty was. As far as his personal life, he was more or less a man who shagged women successfully, and at the same time had to have other men's wives if he desired.
Then there was a aura of him which is established early on. His life gets to meet his science heroes. His complex relationship with Einstein is well represented. His opposition to Fascism is illustrated over and over by his actions.
Sadly, there is the controversial items of his later life. The press makes him into the father of the a-bomb which really is not the case. The film shows that while he was in charge of building it and the first test of it, he had nothing to do with how it was used. He regretted it being used later but we overlook 2 important facts about it's use. First is represented and that is too save troops lives from invading Japan's home Islands. The fact is that in less than a week from the surrender, US Marines were scheduled to land on Honshu and were expected to take 60% casualties. The ships were already fueled in Pearl Harbor and they were getting ready to board.
2nd is the fact that the Russians had already invaded Japan's territory in Asia and Korea and if the surrender had not occurred, within 2 weeks the Russians would have taken most of Manchuria and Korea and several other places. Stalin would then have controlled even more of the World which would not have worked out well for a whole lot of people. This point barely gets mentioned in history books, and overlooking it is a folly as considering the Russians already had knowledge to build an A-Bomb due to spies, Stalin having more territory and power would have put the world into a dire World War 3 situation if the bomb had not been used.
Oppenheimer was one piece of a complex project in a growing complex world. The expert weaving here of our government into his life and his own complex life are very well represented in this movie. Weaving those together into this long complex quilt is a modern masterpiece of biographic film. The acting and cast is superb. Emily Blount is outstanding as one of Oppenheimer's women who is represented as seeming to understand his complex life. I'd point out others in the cast but then I might get as long as the film. It is the themes, issues, and biography that are the most important items of this movie.
When a modern person watches this, they should realize early on the difference between an FDR New Deal Democrat and todays Democratic Party which abandoned FDR's policies starting in 1983 if not sooner. Oppenheimer is well represented in this picture as the FDR guy. While he wound up in charge of a project so fated to change the world, he did understand the kind of strength needed to not just think outside the box, but why it was important to do so.
The controversy of his life is covered well, with the affairs, the people around him who were Communists. Then there is J. Edgar Hoover's FBI spys worried about where his loyalty was. As far as his personal life, he was more or less a man who shagged women successfully, and at the same time had to have other men's wives if he desired.
Then there was a aura of him which is established early on. His life gets to meet his science heroes. His complex relationship with Einstein is well represented. His opposition to Fascism is illustrated over and over by his actions.
Sadly, there is the controversial items of his later life. The press makes him into the father of the a-bomb which really is not the case. The film shows that while he was in charge of building it and the first test of it, he had nothing to do with how it was used. He regretted it being used later but we overlook 2 important facts about it's use. First is represented and that is too save troops lives from invading Japan's home Islands. The fact is that in less than a week from the surrender, US Marines were scheduled to land on Honshu and were expected to take 60% casualties. The ships were already fueled in Pearl Harbor and they were getting ready to board.
2nd is the fact that the Russians had already invaded Japan's territory in Asia and Korea and if the surrender had not occurred, within 2 weeks the Russians would have taken most of Manchuria and Korea and several other places. Stalin would then have controlled even more of the World which would not have worked out well for a whole lot of people. This point barely gets mentioned in history books, and overlooking it is a folly as considering the Russians already had knowledge to build an A-Bomb due to spies, Stalin having more territory and power would have put the world into a dire World War 3 situation if the bomb had not been used.
Oppenheimer was one piece of a complex project in a growing complex world. The expert weaving here of our government into his life and his own complex life are very well represented in this movie. Weaving those together into this long complex quilt is a modern masterpiece of biographic film. The acting and cast is superb. Emily Blount is outstanding as one of Oppenheimer's women who is represented as seeming to understand his complex life. I'd point out others in the cast but then I might get as long as the film. It is the themes, issues, and biography that are the most important items of this movie.