Art Of Pretending

Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. For this he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity.

– “Oppenheimer”

Robert Oppenheimer is often coined as the father of the atomic bomb. He, much like the Greek god Prometheus who is named as the god of fire and creator of mortals, is coined as a „forethinker“ in the human arts and sciences. He is often compared to Prometheus seemingly because he too gave humanity the fire that they used to modernise their society and especially  in Robert Oppenheimer’s case self destruct.

If there is one thing you should remember after viewing this spectacle: It is that mass destruction is always a human evil. Our human intelligence and mind are a riveting and intriguing amalgamation of various enticing and terrifying factors. We endorse violence, whilst thinking that we are bettering the world. We create machinery that supposedly saves the world from evil by creating another evil force anew. We are capable of creating greatness but in the same breath it can be taken from us. No one wins, except the war. The war wins and human lives are lost. 

Prometheus himself was chained to a rock to have his liver be eaten alive every day because he disregarded Zeus’ vision in making the humans inferior creatures who should not have special traits and just worship the gods and their special powers. Prometheus decided against this knowing his creation had more to offer than just be a Sim… yes I went there. He made himself a promise and swore to himself to aid those poor creatures. He brought humanity a spark that created a fire. Making sure to also aid in terms of education he created a society that used fire and intelligence to then wage wars and destroy civilisations they fought so hard to create. 

Maybe now some might understand the deeper meaning between the comparison of the scientist and the Greek god. Now in no way did Nolan try to make Oppenheimer appear as a god, and if you thought he did then maybe you should watch the film again. Christopher Nolan has created greatness but made sure to let the viewer know that greatness of this sort always comes with destruction and a price to pay. We see a man playing god and giving humans the spark that created the fire they will be using to self destruct. Oppenheimer was an ambitious, complex but flawed man and Nolan makes sure that the audience understood so. 

Just think about the magnitude of a scientist who created a weapon so powerful, a weapon to supposedly free humankind from the shackles of destruction, corruption and hatred by destroying humankind itself in the long run. 

We witness not one chain reaction leading to humankind signing its own death note but two. 

A nucleus is where neutrons and protons are bound in close proximity to each other. The world (the nucleus) is divided into humans (neutrons and protons) who are also bound together and create stable connections… if you now bring fission and fusion (the reasons why humans self destruct) into the mix an explosion will occur. (Now listen I am not a scientist but this metaphor is mind…blowing).

The film is very heavy in dialogue, which is rather different for a film circling around war and its downsides. One would think we might be seeing actions of war but instead we see the making of weapons that will be destroying countries and killing human beings. The fact that this three hour epic manages to immerse the viewer for the whole showing and seemingly also makes the audience leave with this deep pit in their chest that opened up as the bomb exploded on the screen, shows the power of cinema and storytelling. This isn’t a short affair- other than some of Oppenheimer’s maybe (sorry it was right there)- but this three hour spectacle made sure to let the audience feel immersed the minute you sat down. One is at the edge of one’s seat being totally enthralled by what is taking place on the big silver screen in front of us. 

The atomic combination (pardon my pun) that Nolan and Cillian Murphy are, truly cannot be explained. I would have to write a dissertation to fully try and understand the power of this duo. Murphy delivers a spectacular performance if not the best of his career thus far. The way he portrayed the “American Prometheus” had me leaving the cinema completely bewildered- somewhat hollow, impressed and scared. Nolan, Murphy and the whole ensemble certainly lit a fire in every person who went to see the film in cinemas, who went to see a story of how history was made and be immersed. They lit a fire and gave us what we needed- a cinematic masterpiece. I did not think I could be so taken by yet another of Murphy‘s performances- but I was. 

I will not rest until I see his name engraved on the academy award for best actor. 

The usage of black and white and coloured perspectives was certainly a choice made by Nolan- and the right one at that. It is in fact a great detail, having different perspectives and times being shown like this. Stories coming together, stories being told differently, stories alternating. We get a contrast of how the camera operates, declaring the viewer as a voyeur who doesn’t just get an insight to the overall story but into the mind of Oppenheimer himself. A mind so deeply split itself, ready to explode at the slightest crashing of mere atoms. Like this a merger of an external coolness and an inner turmoil of a man who gave humankind the fire they needed to destroy themselves breaks through immediately. A fusion of opposing matters occurring if we must name it. 

The film portrays a variety of sequences using black humour to emphasise the extreme derealisation human beings have been victim to when they are the ones who chase the power to be godlike. An example here would be government leaders discussing a list of possible Japanese cities to bomb and taking Kyoto from said list because one of them spent his honeymoon there. The story clarifies that humans do not see other humans as their equal but as an „Other“ that needs to be annihilated. Lives are not taken seriously and a death note was just signed for a vast mass of people. We see a mindset of „if we don’t do it first they will“ and it shows the malevolent nature of humanity. 

We see ripples in the water at the beginning of the film foreshadowing the chain reactions and explosions that will follow at the end. Water versus fire… but fire seemingly having more power to transcend even the worst nightmares one could think of. 

The IMAX screens are perfect for not only showing us Cillian Murphy’s chiseled cheekbones in ultra high definition but also letting the cinematography do its thing. We get to take in the vast landscapes that make us feel so small. The climax of the film is how the bomb explodes in New Mexico, an absolute magnitude of power taking up the whole screen and soundscape- A panorama that sits in contrast to the interrogation sequences etc. that show us how human power does have its limits. Small scruffy rooms, where one seemingly can’t breathe properly because the weight of the world is sitting on their shoulders, are put next to scenes that create this vast landscape of nothingness making us try and breathe in more air than we can take. 

The minute the first bomb exploded the viewer is met with nothing but an incredible picture paired with the sound of nothingness. A void is being opened. No sound uttered because it hasn’t hit us yet. Not the bomb nor the realisation that history has just changed forever. Until it finally hits us, literally and figuratively. The button has been pressed to unleash the fire Prometheus and Oppenheimer have given humankind. And one might never be the same after having witnessed this scene. 

It is like you drown in the explosion, feeling suffocated and not being able to hear. Being totally immersed and scared asking yourself when you are finally going to hear the impact of the bomb and not just see it.  

It is mind-blowing that a man so enthralled in physics and its endless possibilities, realised too late that he might have just signed the death warrant for humankind – Very ironic for minds so unique as Oppenheimer’s and his peers. 

The film truly shows how humans try to find limitless possibilities for a world that is limited. 

The many close ups of Oppenheimer’s face, reveal that in some way our protagonist might have become a shell of himself. We stare right though him and it is as though he’s being destroyed by the weight of knowledge that his brain has amassed, he has maybe annihilated himself before doing so to humankind. 

Ireland‘s pride and joy Cillian Murphy‘s performance was able to outshine that of the atomic bomb, but he couldn’t have done so without the riveting cast, that worked towards creating a cinematic masterpiece. Stellar performances are amassed left and right, we might even have seen some of these actors at the peek of their career. A protagonist is only as good as their ensemble and thank god the ensemble delivered a riveting, gripping and spectacular performance. 

Can you hear the music? Can you feel the ripples in time? Can you feel the explosion? Can you feel the blood rushing through your veins? Can you feel humanity destroy itself? Can you hear the intrusion of death trying to knock on your door? 

Cinema and spectacle is back everyone. Christopher Nolan you did. It. Once. Again. This cannot just be repeated in the future much like the mind of Oppenheimer. 

P.S.: Seeing Cillian Murphy‘s cheekbones on the big screen was certainly an experience. Carved by the gods- Prometheus maybe?

P.P.S.: my letterboxd profile in case you want to see other reviews of mine: https://boxd.it/3GYOx