Christopher Nolan has created a different type of masterpiece. One unlike anything done before for a biopic. Whether you are a Nolan fan, history buff, or someone who enjoys the creative aspects of film, you will love this.

Going into this, this was easily my most anticipated film of 2023. Nolan’s films have had a great impact in my life. Seeing that he made something unlike anything he has done before had me even more intrigued. The 3-hour runtime and R-rating for Nolan’s filmography and for a biopic made me feel like we were in for something special. Emphasizing on the biopic part, I am so glad to see that people are turned up for this, because it is truly worth it.

What made me even more excited for this was the fact that I was seeing it in 70mm – a first for me in seeing something in a special format like this, which is probably the best place for me to start in terms of positives for this movie. I could clearly tell the difference in this special format as the lighting on the screen flickered and the random cigarette burns occurred from time to time. Nolan has done this in his previous works before, but I am glad to have seen Oppenheimer this way. Between this format and the sold out theater I was in, I couldn’t help but to feel that this was probably what it felt like when seeing The Godfather in theaters at the time of its release. It was truly an amazing experience within itself.

Biopics tend to come and go and they don’t always have a rewatch ability. Oppenheimer is truly a three-hour biopic epic that has so much to offer within its own runtime that I cannot wait to watch again to catch something new. At three hours, the film has a really good pace as we navigate the titular character’s journey. The impact we feel for this character wouldn’t have been possible without Cillian Murphy’s commitment to the role. Murphy manages to find this middle ground with the character that allows him to play a normal human being much like anyone else. He never under or overperforms. From the beginning, you can see how his character has his motives yet has his regrets, which makes him very relatable. I am calling it now, but Murphy is coming for his Oscar.

Mentioning of the talent in front of the camera, the entire cast gives outstanding, knock-out performances. Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt will certainly be the other talent you hear about this awards season, but it’s hard to pinpoint a singular bad performance. The other standouts to me were Josh Hartnett and Benny Safdie. Hartnett gives more screen time that I expected and it is warranted. He is supper underrated and it was nice being able to see him be in a bigger role like this. Where Safdie impressed me is within his commitment to the accent. He also had a bigger role than what I was expecting and I think he did a superb job in this.

If I were to explain the structure of this film to anyone, and to anyone confused by the color and black-and-white scenes, is that the film is essentially two different films in one. This structure allows for two different perspectives – one where we see things from Oppenheimer’s perspective in color, while the black-and-white scenes offer a more convoluted look at this story. This is where Nolan’s work comes into play to offer something that will be talked about for a quite a while. The black-and-white scenes could be seen as from another perspective looking at Oppenheimer, but it can also be seen as how Lewis Strauss (Downey Jr.) views the world in black-and-white. This take offers one where the audience may be against the titular character until they see things from his point of view. It’s a unique take on a biopic that makes the film even more rewatchable.

One aspect that I have not seen get mentioned enough with Nolan’s work is his ability to juggle multiples genres into one film. A great example is with 2010’s Inception, which juggles drama, action, sci-fi, and romance. It’s also the reason why that film still stands as Nolan’s best. Before the release of Oppenheimer, Nolan mentioned that this film felt most like a horror. Without getting into any spoilers, the film actually does feel like a horror movie in the midway point, and it is haunting to say the least. It involves Oppenheimer’s psyche at the time, and I believe that’s why there is so much time given to his character before as we can go on this journey with him and feel what he is feeling. Like I’ve said, it’s unlike any other biopic I have ever seen, and it is the reason why this film will go down as the best film of 2023, not just for me, but for many others. Of course, that’s only one reason why amongst so many other reasons.

If you are watching a Nolan film, you know that you are in for a treat with the film score. Nolan collaborates with composer Ludwig Göransson who last worked together on Nolan’s previous film Tenet. A score that I obsessed with. Seeing this collaboration once again was only one of the many aspects for why this film was so highly anticipated. Göransson delivers a haunting, yet beautiful score that accompanies the film from its dramatic moments to its most thrilling. Much like Tenet, I will also be playing this on repeat.

I do want to offer one thing that I have seen where other people have taken issue with the film, and that is within the sound mix. Nolan is notoriously known for the sound mix tends to make the dialogue hard to hear. I don’t know if it had to do with the format or the theater that I saw it in, but I did not have any issue with it. I am not sure why this is the case. I hope the viewers may rewatch it a different way next time and be able to enjoy it a bit more because they can hear it.

Overall, what makes the film work is Nolan’s dedication to telling this story from an artistic perspective. It is within Nolan’s top three films of his filmography. At three hours, no moment is ever wasted. I was consistently engaged with the film. I only started looking at my watch towards the end, because I was nervous about getting out of the already packed theater. You can’t go wrong with this though. I have a feelings that this will sweep during the awards season.

VERDICT: 5/5 (Perfect)