Christopher Nolan is promoting Oppenheimer in his own, subdued way. The auteur probably knows his name alone is sufficient in ensuring that the film markets itself. But he’s getting out there, sharing quotes and thoughts on such raging topics as Generative AI. At this point, Oppenheimer must be all but complete, so there are some people who have seen a cut of it in some form. In a long-ranging interview with Wired, the director shared some reactions he has received from the test screenings.
According to Nolan, at least some audience members who saw the film left it devasted and unable to speak. It seems with the current political climate, the movie’s story is more relevant than it ever was, despite being more than half a century old at this point.
Some people leave the movie absolutely devastated. They can’t speak. I mean, there’s an element of fear that’s there in the history and there in the underpinnings. But the love of the characters, the love of the relationships, is as strong as I’ve ever done.
Audience members are not the only one who saw the film. Nolan also showed it to a filmmaker, who described it as a horror movie. The interviewer herself suggested that despite being set against a dark backdrop, Oppenheimer’s story is a story of optimism and inherently fights against nihilism, something that Nolan agrees with.
It is an intense experience, because it’s an intense story. I showed it to a filmmaker recently who said it’s kind of a horror movie. I don’t disagree. It’s interesting that you used the word nihilism earlier, because I don’t think I’d quite managed to put my finger on it. But as I started to finish the film, I started to feel this color that’s not in my other films, just darkness. It’s there. The film fights against that.
With folks from inside and outside the industry gaining access to it, how could Nolan’s kids be left behind? The director revealed that his kids had seen the film as well, and while they may not have agreed with the relevance of the themes it tackles when Nolan set out to write it, they have a different stance today.
I told one of my sons about it as I started to write it, and he literally said to me: ‘But nobody really worries about that anymore.’ Nuclear weapons. Two years later, he’s not saying that. The world’s changed again. And that’s a lesson for all of us, but particularly for the young. The world changes fast.
We’re still some time away before Oppenheimer first reactions appear on social media. For the time being, these are probably the earliest of reactions we’re going to get from audience members. And we’ll just have to take Nolan’s word for it. Time will tell how much the movie lives up to these. But I for one don’t really doubt it won’t.
Oppenheimer releases in theaters on July 21, 2023. Directed by Christoper Nolan for Universal Pictures, it is adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin and 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.
