OPPENHEIMER

I guess it's a measure of how much I enjoyed this epic that I was barely conscious of its length, and I even managed to watch it without going to the loo once, which must mean something.

Mind you, my heart did sink a tad during the rather clunky opening scenes which feature the usual tropes to signal we are in the presence of Genius.  But once the Manhattan Project starts to take off I was fully on board for the ride. 

One of the reasons I was swept along was the combination of the time-hopping structure and the relentless pace.  Yet despite the pace, and the absence of quiet scenes, I didn't feel exhausted by the end.  Credit for this must go to Nolan, and to the score.

I went into the film knowing very little about Oppenheimer the person, so I enjoyed finding out about his left-wing connections in his youth on the one hand, and his fall from grace in the 1950s on the other. 

One thing I certainly didn't expect were the couple of erotic scenes, or moments, a first for a Nolan film I believe.

Acting-wise Cillian Murphy's face dominates proceedings but maybe the outstanding individual performance is that of Robert Downey Jr, who must surely win an Oscar.  But everyone is fine, a testament to Nolan's ability to perfectly cast everyone in his films.

Surely only Nolan could turn a film about nuclear physics into a summer blockbuster.  He manages to sustain a narrative momentum over three hours despite the fact that quite a lot of what we are watching is not inherently dramatic - I mean, who really cares if Oppenheimer loses his security pass?

It's certainly a monumental achievement which cements Nolan's reputation as one of our top directors.

RATING: ✓✓ Catch It If You Can