Director Christopher Nolan‘s new film Oppenheimer may be the year’s most unnerving film. The film industry is a buzz about the film ahead of its July premiere. Everyone is talking about how the film leaves critics noticeably shaken and devastated. It doesn’t hurt that the movie is inspired by a true story, which always makes it more intense.
“Some people leave the movie absolutely devastated,” Nolan said to Variety. “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.”
Nolan also added, “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.”
The film thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it.
The star-studded thriller features an all-star, award-winning cast that includes Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Oscar® winner Matt Damon, Robert Downey, Jr, Academy Award® nominee Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, and Josh Hartnett. Oppenheimer also stars Oscar® winner Rami Malek and reunites Nolan with eight-time Oscar® nominated actor, writer, and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh.
The film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven, and Christopher Nolan.
In real life, J. Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist who served as a physics professor at the University of California, Berkeley. In the 1930s, among other things, he gained acclaim in the field of nuclear weapons.
Oppenheimer opens in theaters on July 21, 2023.