You've captured my thoughts on Oppenheimer so well. I remember walking out of the theater feeling overwhelmed, thinking that the film was important, perhaps ambitious, but not necessarily immersive or entertaining. I couldn't pinpoint what bothered me about it exactly, but, at some point that same night, I said that the movie felt "choppy." And your remark about vignettes hits the nail on the head. That's the reason. I also think the back and forth to manufacture suspense wasn't that effective. The sex scenes also felt like they didn't belong. I don't necessarily immediately object the sex scenes, but they should serve a dramatic purpose. Here, they're difficult to justify. I added it as one of my "favorite" of the year because it felt important and it tackled serious ideas, albeit in a dull manner. I wonder if we'll both the same way when/if we rewatch it.
I completely agree. I actually don't understand how this film got an Oscar. It was a fascinating story but the endless background music and ultra quick edits and scene changes just wore me out. My brain likes to take in everything, notice everything, get immersed and this movie just wouldn't let me. For example, one minute he is talking to a woman, next thing they are in bed, next thing she's demanding he read Sanskrit to her. The camera never lingers. There is no silence and most importantly no time to care about any of the characters. The one bright spot for me was Robert Downey Jr.'s performance.
I found the movie interesting (I haven’t read the book it’s based on) in the telling of the coming together of so many scientists ( and egos) to create the atomic bomb. I also was surprised that Oppenheimer didn’t see past the making of it. Until it was made, he didn’t try to imagine the greater consequences? Strauss’ roll had to be explained to me post movie. I didn’t catch his deep offense at the imagined snub by Oppenheimer and Einstein or that his vanity had somehow played an important roll in events of the movie. Thank you for a delightful review!
I saw this at the Santa Barbara Film Festival viewing today and it was followed by a Q&A with Cillian. He’s a nice guy IRL and I admired his work. But the more I think about the movie, I can’t stand it. In the middle I thought they should just title it “Men Talking” because that’s all it was. And because of the loud indiscernible speech I couldn’t follow WTF was happening and thus didn’t care. The female characters were flat and uninteresting. I’m actually very very annoyed this film is supposed to be considered by many to be a masterpiece. I’m a smart film lover and I vehemently disagree.
Saw the film last night on imax. Too loud, much of the dialogue very hard to understand. How can you care for a scene when you cannot understand what is being said. Just to look at it?
Very few scenes that used imax to advantage. Explicit sex scenes were superfluous and added nothing to the story. A hodgepodge of vignettes and scenes that were confusing, even while supposedly clear because of black and white and colored photography.
Very disappointing film, could have watched on my tv. Why did this film get so much praise?
This is the most well-crafted movie review I've read in a long time. Please do more (perhaps the other half of so-called "barbenheimer?").
You had me at “there’s no goal.” I’ll miss it, thanks.
You've captured my thoughts on Oppenheimer so well. I remember walking out of the theater feeling overwhelmed, thinking that the film was important, perhaps ambitious, but not necessarily immersive or entertaining. I couldn't pinpoint what bothered me about it exactly, but, at some point that same night, I said that the movie felt "choppy." And your remark about vignettes hits the nail on the head. That's the reason. I also think the back and forth to manufacture suspense wasn't that effective. The sex scenes also felt like they didn't belong. I don't necessarily immediately object the sex scenes, but they should serve a dramatic purpose. Here, they're difficult to justify. I added it as one of my "favorite" of the year because it felt important and it tackled serious ideas, albeit in a dull manner. I wonder if we'll both the same way when/if we rewatch it.
I completely agree. I actually don't understand how this film got an Oscar. It was a fascinating story but the endless background music and ultra quick edits and scene changes just wore me out. My brain likes to take in everything, notice everything, get immersed and this movie just wouldn't let me. For example, one minute he is talking to a woman, next thing they are in bed, next thing she's demanding he read Sanskrit to her. The camera never lingers. There is no silence and most importantly no time to care about any of the characters. The one bright spot for me was Robert Downey Jr.'s performance.
I found the movie interesting (I haven’t read the book it’s based on) in the telling of the coming together of so many scientists ( and egos) to create the atomic bomb. I also was surprised that Oppenheimer didn’t see past the making of it. Until it was made, he didn’t try to imagine the greater consequences? Strauss’ roll had to be explained to me post movie. I didn’t catch his deep offense at the imagined snub by Oppenheimer and Einstein or that his vanity had somehow played an important roll in events of the movie. Thank you for a delightful review!
I saw this at the Santa Barbara Film Festival viewing today and it was followed by a Q&A with Cillian. He’s a nice guy IRL and I admired his work. But the more I think about the movie, I can’t stand it. In the middle I thought they should just title it “Men Talking” because that’s all it was. And because of the loud indiscernible speech I couldn’t follow WTF was happening and thus didn’t care. The female characters were flat and uninteresting. I’m actually very very annoyed this film is supposed to be considered by many to be a masterpiece. I’m a smart film lover and I vehemently disagree.
Saw the film last night on imax. Too loud, much of the dialogue very hard to understand. How can you care for a scene when you cannot understand what is being said. Just to look at it?
Very few scenes that used imax to advantage. Explicit sex scenes were superfluous and added nothing to the story. A hodgepodge of vignettes and scenes that were confusing, even while supposedly clear because of black and white and colored photography.
Very disappointing film, could have watched on my tv. Why did this film get so much praise?
One wonders what Aaron Sorkin could've done with J. Robert Oppenheimer. I think his "Steve Jobs" is one of the best biopic screenplays out there.
Wow! Bravo review. I have not seen the film but glad you saved me the money and trouble of going to see it.
I've not seen it and had no plans to do so. Your review confirms my decision.
I told my husband I didn't want to sit down for a three hour movie out of fear of paying money to fall asleep. Glad I got to sleep in my bed instead!