The long awaited “Oppenheimer,” directed by Christopher Nolan, has risen to the tops of the charts to become the second-highest-grossing R-rated movie (behind “Joker” 2019) and, as of September, it is the highest-grossing biographical film (surpassing “Bohemian Rhapsody” 2018).
Photo from Boston.com
Matthew Jackson from “The A.V. Club” deemed “Oppenheimer” a “masterpiece,” adding that “it’s Christopher Nolan’s best film so far, a step up to a new level for one of our finest filmmakers, and a movie that burns itself into your brain.”
I can completely agree with Jackson and the idea that the movie “burns itself into your brain.” Since seeing it a few months ago, I have gone through various phases of thinking about it, and I am mostly in awe of the actual cinematography of the movie.
While watching it, I truly felt it was like a combination of everything that Nolan had done really well in all of his other films in one film. On top of everything, Nolan made the explicit decision to avoid using all forms of CGI in his film, instead opting to use cinematic trickery to create everything used in the film.
The movie starred various A-list actors as well as an absolutely ridiculous number of actors and actresses known for all sorts of movies and tv shows. Most notably, in the titular role, was Cillian Murphy. The rest of the cast featured were Robert Downey Jr. (“Iron Man”), Florence Pugh (an icon), Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Gary Oldman (Inspector Gordon from Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” Trilogy), Jack Quiad (as in son of Dennis Quaid), Rami Malek (from “Bohemian Rhapsody”), Josh Peck (“Drake and Josh,” anyone?) and David Dastmalchian (Murdoc from the remake of “MacGyver”).
The movie, if you didn’t already know, was released on Friday, July 21, on the same day as “Barbie,” and both movies performed very well in the box offices.
“Barbie” starred Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrel, Emma Mackay, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, Kate McKinnon, America Ferrera and so many more amazing actors and actresses in both the Barbie and Ken role. Director Greta Gerwig took a really interesting approach to casting the roles. She decided to have dozens of actors and actresses all play them, instead of one, meaning that at any given moment, there were at least three women named Barbie or Ken on screen.
It was a really unique approach that overall performed very well because of the fact that it allowed so much representation, and as a disabled person, I am always seeking film and tv that has disabled representation done well.
Photo from Vogue.co.uk
The movie made me laugh and cry and feel things, and the ending sequence where Barbie (played by Robbie) meets the creator of Barbie while Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For” played over it made me tear up in theaters.
And!!! The absolute best part of the movie was when America Ferrara, the icon that she is, gave her “Woman Speech” which was basically a monologue about what it is like to be a woman. It’s something that younger me would have appreciated hearing and adult me has listened to on repeat since seeing the movie.
If you haven’t seen the movie, Ferrara basically tells Barbie that to be a woman you have to do all of these contradictory things, like “You have to be a boss, but you can’t be mean. … You have to answer for men’s bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining …. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish …” She continues on.
Hearing this in theater, while pursuing a degree in a male-dominated field, made me feel seen—it meant a lot.
Between the two movies, I cannot pick a favorite. The monologue from “Barbie” I think about at least weekly, but I also think about how Nolan’s portrayal of Oppenheimer showed how he was a true American, something that up until the release of “American Prometheus” in the early 2000s would have been wild to even consider.
The historian in me loves a good historical drama, but I also loved all of the creativity that went into the Barbie movie.