Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is only a few weeks away from release. As such, the movie is either fully or largely complete by this point, resulting in some folks having a chance to see it via test screenings. One such prominent person who has seen it is Kai Bird, the co-author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Pulitzer Prize winning book that Nolan has adapted for Oppenheimer. Co-written by the late Martin J. Sherwin, the book itself is a terrific read, a result of over 25 years worth of research conducted about the life of the theoretical physicist who lead the Manhattan Project to build the nation’s first atomic bomb.
Bird revealed he’s had a chance to see the movie and is still recovering from the impact of having watched it. Calling it a “stunning artistic achievement”, he strongly opines that it’s going to spark global debates and conversations about the nature of what happened to Oppenheimer and the atomic arms race that kicked off as a result of the actions taken during World War II, a race that could have been nipped in the bud had the then-established Atomic Energy Commission been keen on incorporating Oppenheimer’s suggestions about nuclear disarmament.
I am, at the moment, stunned and emotionally recovering from having seen it. I think it is going to be a stunning artistic achievement, and I have hopes it will actually stimulate a national, even global conversation about the issues that Oppenheimer was desperate to speak out about — about how to live in the atomic age, how to live with the bomb and about McCarthyism — what it means to be a patriot, and what is the role for a scientist in a society drenched with technology and science, to speak out about public issues.
In this day and age, as hard as it may be to trust marketing speak, Bird’s words come across as an encouraging sign. No one expects any less from Nolan, least of all his fans. But marketing has a tendency to hype things up to disproportionate amounts. Hopefully, this endorsement from the source material’s author is only a good sign of the experience that awaits us when we watch Nolan’s first full-fledged biopic in IMAX theaters across the globe.
Oppenheimer releases in theaters on July 21, 2023. Directed by Christoper Nolan for Universal Pictures, it features a star-studded cast that includes Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Jack Quaid, Josh Hartnett, Rami Malek, Gary Oldman, Kenneth Branagh, Alden Ehrenreich, Dane DeHaan, and David Dastmalchian. Tickets for the movie are now on sale.
