Oppenheimer: Intentions & Consequences
The best of intentions can, sometimes, lead to the worst consequences. This is a very familiar concept. It’s been a part of our stories for centuries. We meet a character whose heart is in the right place, but a series of decisions lead to large negative consequences. Our familiarity can even be personal, we have all been on the wrong side of our own good intentions. It’s a fact of life, good intentions can lead to bad outcomes. The lesson comes in the exploration of the importance of those good intentions, how to better implement them, and how to deal with their consequences. The latter can break a person, forever altering them. This is one of the thematic elements in Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Oppenheimer.
Christopher Nolan centers his three hour epic around the controversial figure known as the father of the Atomic Bomb, Robert Oppenheimer (played brilliantly by Cillian Murphy). The sheer act of titling and centering the film around him allows for an added complexity. How should we view Robert Oppenheimer? Was he a monster or tortured soul? Can we label him a murderer? While all of these questions are seemingly on the mind of the filmmakers, and even the character himself, they aren’t the focus of the film. They are more of an added spice to intellectual exploration.
The infamous dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are a footnote in this film, not the main point. Rather it’s the fallout of the bombs, the intention behind their creation and even the intended significance of their existence that takes center stage. There's no doubt that these events were tragic, but why did it happen? Did it have to happen? And how does one live with the consequences? Those are the questions Oppenheimer explores. All are powerful in any context but with the added context here, they are harrowing.
There are many fitting adjectives for Oppenheimer, and harrowing may be the most appropriate. There is a level of awareness the film leans into. When telling a story where the audience knows the outcome, tension can be hard to create. You can lean into the audience’s knowledge or try to work around it. Oppenheimer does the former, using all of our prior knowledge to create a harrowing feeling. There is no doubt that he will create the bomb and what the United States will do with it.
The conflict is found in its lead character, his decision to create and then how to manage its use. This is where the communication of intentions is so important. While the film takes his name, it’s less a biopic and more an examination of a situation through his eyes. His morality in this situation is important and in that Nolan, and Murphy, do a terrific job of establishing the complexity of his motive.
Clearly driven by his desire to stop the Nazis, Oppenheimer seems a patriot even in the face of intense scrutiny. A detour that takes us from the compelling subject but is nevertheless necessary, it fully examines the stakes at hand. Apart from the war there is also an intellectual curiosity driving him. He is passionate about his field and the possibilities. The possibility of making theory a reality motivates him and is found at the base of his desires.
Alongside this is the most optimistic take which is the belief that building the atomic bomb would stop any future wars. The idea that whoever has the biggest gun wouldn’t elicit challengers is foolish. Optimistic may be the most generous word when looking into this intention, it comes from a deep understanding of the subject. Knowing to a greater extent than most what can come from a bomb such as this colors his perspective, thus leading to a stance that could be a justification.
The last and maybe the most complicated, is the desire to do something that has never been done. Just the possibility of creating something so extraordinary that it will forever cement your name in history, is a driving force that seems impossible to overcome. A lure that allows you to look past the possible negative outcomes and continue down a path to perceived greatness. Oppenheimer explores all of this with its main character. Presenting him as a flawed and complicated man who is also capable of greatness far beyond our understanding then finding himself in a unique position.
This is real tension, seeing a man internally wrestle all of these elements when you know it leads to a terrible place. A tension from understanding the outcome and the filmmaking execution of masters. A tension so palpable that you can’t move in your chair, because you want to see the extraordinary even though you know it’s not for the best. Ultimately, placing you in the same dilemma as Robert Oppenheimer.
When you make a film about the atomic bomb and the climax isn’t the dropping of that bomb, is your movie really about the atomic bomb? In this case the bomb is rarely the source of tension. While the most spectacular portion of the film is the build and subsequent dropping of the bomb in testing, what comes after is much more powerful. When the United States takes the usage of the bomb out of the hands of the scientists who created it and specifically Robert Oppenheimer, we watch him crumble. His worst fears come into existence and ultimately change his worldview. These are the moments when the film is truly at its best.
Cillian Murphy blows you away with his tortured demeanor, all because of the terrible consequences of his creation. How do you live with yourself being the father of a creation that not only killed hundreds of thousands in the name of war, but also of the very thing that could mean the end of this world? Those consequences don’t match his intentions, no matter how naive or optimistic. That weight can crush a person, and it seemingly does to Robert Oppenheimer. He believes he deserves the punishment so he can’t fight against the country that is trying to vilify him.
Watching this play out in the film's final minutes is incredibly compelling. In part because there is no proper way to suggest one live with those consequences but also because his suffering feels deserving. If the extraordinary thing you create may also end the world, and you realize that too late or maybe knew of its capabilities the whole time, then suffering under the weight of those consequences is necessary.
Nolan’s intentions do not appear to be a celebration of Oppenheimer’s suffering, but we see it. He lingers long enough for us to take in the full weight of it. But again Robert Oppenheimer is not only the titular character and he is not what this film is about. It’s about intention and consequences, but it’s also about how fear can fuel a desire in a country that cannot be quenched. A fear that drives a country to create something so destructive that it can end the world. Then in the face of that possibility use it to forever alter a country in the name of war.
Oppenheimer is a brilliant film, one of the best of this year. It’s sprawling in its themes, perfect in its acting and outrageously compelling. It takes a major catastrophic event and doesn’t place that event in question, instead it allows us to examine the outcome of it. Oppenheimer is harrowing not because a controversial man created an atomic bomb. It’s harrowing because we all know to what lengths humans will go, and that’s a consequence that makes all of us uncomfortable.
