Oppenheimer, the new film by revered auteur Christopher Nolan, is almost upon us. Along with Barbie, it’s one of the most hotly anticipated cinema events of the year. But while history heads may be across the plot details, for the layman one question remains pertinent: what’s it all about?
Well, the short answer is: the invention of the atomic bomb. But for those who want more detail, here’s the gist: Nolan regular Cillian Murphy plays physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who in 1943 decamped from his teaching gig at University of California—Berkeley, to Los Alamos, New Mexico to head up The Manhattan Project—the US government’s nascent atomic weapons research program.
As you probably know, he was successful—and had extremely complicated feelings about it for the rest of his life. Reflecting on witnessing the first successful atomic detonation, he later recalled, “We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent.”
Written by Nolan himself, Oppenheimer is based on the 2005 non-fiction book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, which scored the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. That book covers all elements of Oppenheimer’s life, but naturally focuses on his time at the Los Alamos laboratory. What we’re wondering is how much of the book Nolan’s film actually covers. Will it encompass his entire life, or merely his work on the A-bomb? Based on the trailers thus far, it seems that the latter is more likely, but it’s possible we’ll get a more expansive biopic.
Still, given that the development of atomic weapons is one of the most important and terrifying events in the entire sweep of human history, you could hardly blame Nolan from focussing on that. As ever these days, actual details are thin on the ground. We’ll all find out when Oppenheimer drops later this month. Let’s hope it doesn’t bomb.
