Oppenheimer: a brief reflection

Official poster

Knowing next to nothing about Oppenheimer, I was aware of the intense response from audiences before I saw it. Frequently, people walked out. Many said it was an experience they would not forget.

I watched a short film of Physicist Brian Cox, in conversation with Director Christopher Nolan (for Esquire Magazine), who wholeheartedly endorsed Nolan's treatment of the physics involved and his intelligent and evocative description of the man himself. Cox urged everyone to go and see it.

What struck me forcefully about the film is that it places Oppenheimer and all he stands for, in the very human context of his time. The film builds a picture of this Jewish polymath and scientific prodigy, starting with his experiences of deep depression and vivid visions of the cosmos during his university days at Cambridge.

The film makes clear he was well and widely read, familiar with Freud, Jung and Eastern philosophy and beliefs. Hence his often quoted lines from the Bhagavad-Gita "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds". (It is not clear when these words were spoken, during or after the July 1945 Trinity Test, when the first atomic bomb was detonated.)

Oppenheimer was familiar with, and had been in dialogue with Einstein, whose work he built on in the process of developing the bomb. In a sense, he surpassed Einstein's achievements, and there are several touching scenes before and after the Trinity test of him talking with the older (and wiser) scientist.

What comes across from the film, is a brilliant man who understood, but too late, the way his scientific breakthroughs would impact and be used by the men of his time.

He was terrified by the possibility that others would develop an atomic bomb (and use it) and had faith in the bomb ensuring peace.

Director Christopher Nolan drew largely from the biography 'American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin.

(Prometheus, the Greek Titan, whose name denotes a 'forethinker', stole fire from the gods. As punishment, the legend goes, he was chained by Zeus to a mountain in the Caucasus, his liver which constantly replenished, eaten by an eagle.)

Prometheus is an appropriate legend, for Oppenheimer, who was raised high with achievement of the first atomic bomb, but afterwards became a target during the McCarthy period 1950-1954. His security clearance was denied, on the basis that he had Communist leanings, and his career collapsed after a vicious interrogation of his life and relationships. This is vividly portrayed during the film.

(Oppenheimer became acutely aware of the potential of his work and it's devastating consequences. He spent the rest of his life attempting to establish controls for the use of atomic power). Whilst his work after the Trinity Test is not covered in the film, his overwhelming brilliance and the extreme anguish he suffered at the height of his success is beautifully evoked.

Cillian Murphy in the title role is stunning. Emily Blunt as his wife Kitty, Mat Damon as General Leslie Groves, director of the Manhattan Project and Tom Conte as Einstein all give superb performances. The ensemble supporting case includes Rami Malek, Robert Downey Jr, Kenneth Branagh, Florence Pugh Josh Hartnett and Casey Affleck.

'Oppenheimer' is an antidote to both the numbness, and the vicarious thrills of our repeated exposure to war and trauma happening in the world today. I look forward to reading American Prometheus, and include a couple of references to books which explore our human compulsion to make war.

Go see this film. Keep your hat on.

Recommended reading:

1. 'A Terrible Love of War', by James Hillman.

2. 'Facing Apocalypse' - Papers from the 1983 Conference whose theme was 'Re-Imagining the End of the World'. Written by a radical mix of peace activists, clergy, poets, psychoanalysts, Military historians and officers from Newport's Naval War College.

Watch the official trailer here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK6ldnjE3Y0