Oppenheimer
Movie, 2023, The 2020s, Set in Los Alamos
Oppenheimer is #12 of 13 in release order and #12 of 13 in chronological order in the Christopher Nolan.
The story
The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
Oppenheimer recap
Oppenheimer (2023) traces physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer from his student years to leading the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos and his later fall from grace. Christopher Nolan wrote and directed it from Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin's biography American Prometheus. Cillian Murphy plays Oppenheimer, Emily Blunt his wife Kitty, Florence Pugh his lover Jean Tatlock and Matt Damon General Leslie Groves, who puts him in charge of building the bomb. The colour scenes follow his own account, framed by a closed 1954 hearing that strips him of his security clearance; black-and-white scenes follow Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.), chair of the Atomic Energy Commission, at his 1959 Senate confirmation hearing. In between come the Trinity test in the New Mexico desert, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Oppenheimer's growing opposition to the hydrogen bomb. Oppenheimer is Nolan's twelfth feature, after Tenet and before The Odyssey.
Oppenheimer ending explained
Oppenheimer ends with Strauss exposed as the man behind the 1954 hearing; after the scientist David Hill testifies against him, the Senate rejects his nomination. A final flashback returns to a talk between Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein by a Princeton pond that Strauss assumed was about him. Oppenheimer reminds Einstein of their fear that the first test might ignite the atmosphere and says he believes they did destroy the world, as he pictures missiles spreading across the Earth. The film won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Nolan.
Post-credits scenes
No. Oppenheimer has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer is streaming on Peacock, YouTube TV, and Fandango at Home Free in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 8.2/10, Rotten Tomatoes 93%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Tenet, before The Odyssey.
- Chronological order: after Tenet, before The Odyssey.
Cast
- Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer
- Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer
- Matt Damon as Leslie Groves
- Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss
- Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock
- Josh Hartnett as Ernest Lawrence
- Casey Affleck as Boris Pash
- Rami Malek as David Hill
- Kenneth Branagh as Niels Bohr
- Benny Safdie as Edward Teller
- Jason Clarke as Roger Robb
- Dylan Arnold as Frank Oppenheimer
Directed by Christopher Nolan.