Oppenheimer Review (Spoilers)

After two viewings of Oppenheimer (that’s six hours of Oppenheimer total), I feel like I have a better understanding not of quantum physics (that will always be a mystery), but of mental health, politics, and war. It is a compelling movie about the brilliant scientist Robert Oppenheimer, the “Father of the Atomic Bomb” which, of course, we used against the Japanese in World War 2. But it was about more than that. It was about ideas, ideas of freedom and democracy, values, and conviction. Even the great Oppenheimer is far from perfect, as the movie proves. But I will say he is very likable.

After a weird incident that is never quite explained where Oppenheimer tries to poison his tutor at college, he starts a quantum physics department at Berkeley in New Mexico. Berkeley is swimming with communists including his mistress Jean and his future wife Kitty, his brother Frank and his brother's wife Jackie. However, Oppenheimer never joins the Communist Party himself and he increasingly becomes disillusioned with the party as the Nazi’s begin their reign of terror in Germany. He marries Kitty when he gets her pregnant. In his professional life, his paper on black holes is finally published. And then Germany invades Poland.

Oppenheimer is approached by Attorney General Groves who recruits him to lead the Manhattan Project which is responsible for developing an atomic bomb. Oppenheimer goes around the country recruiting scientists of all kinds. They begin work at a test site in Los Alamos. Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty, clearly has problems with alcohol. I’m not sure if you could classify it as a happy marriage but at least she was loyal to him which is more than I can say for him.

Which brings me to Jean Tatlock. She desperately tries to get in contact with Oppenheimer, but Oppenheimer is now under surveillance from the government for his work on the Manhattan Project and can no longer see her. Devastated by this rejection, Jean Tatlock commits suicide which destroys Oppenheimer. Kitty, his wife, tells him to pull himself together. “You do not get to commit a sin and then feel sorry for yourself,” I thought she had a point. I mean Oppenheimer slept with Jean knowing she was emotionally fragile (under psychiatric care to use his phrasing) and then left her abruptly. Didn’t he think what that might do to her?

But Oppenheimer returns and continues to work on the atom bomb. He tangles with Lewis Strauss (played by Robert Downey Jr.) over several matters and earns himself a powerful enemy. The atom bomb is a success and makes him one of the most popular men in America once it is used against the Japanese (twice) and gets them to surrender. That is when Oppenheimer begins to have moral qualms. He has visions of people suffering as the result of “his” bomb and begins to work to make sure it is not used again. However, Strauss is not one to forgive a grudge and spearheads a campaign against Oppenheimer in retaliation. Oppenheimer must answer to a committee, to America, and to himself about the decisions he has made regarding his former mistress, communism, and the atomic bomb.

I thought this movie was brilliant. I liked it even better the second time around because I was able to glean a better understanding of some very complicated subject matter. The acting was superb: Cillian Murphy played Robert Oppenheimer and Robert Downey Jr. played Strauss. Emily Blunt played Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty. This is a great movie for anyone interested in American history, world history, science, or psychology. Actions have consequences and being in war does not negate those consequences. That being said, we cannot pretend to know how we would act at such a time when our very country is at stake (or perceived to be at stake). We must keep this in mind for the future, both in the field of science and out.