Christopher Nolan reveals that Oppenheimer brings back one visual trick he previously used on Memento. Released in 2000, the visionary director’s breakout film follows Guy Pearce playing a man suffering from anterograde amnesia, a type of short-term memory loss that prevents him from forming new memories. In what would become a trademark for Nolan, Memento explores a nonlinear narrative by interlacing black-and-white scenes that are shown chronologically with color sequences that are presented in reverse order. While combining to produce one complete and cohesive narrative, the visual distinction helps create a distorted sense of time and simulates the mental state of Pearce’s protagonist for the audience.
During a recent interview with Total Film (via GamesRadar), Nolan reveals that Oppenheimer will use the same visual trick as Memento. While the Oppenheimer trailer announcement and early images were presented in black-and-white, the upcoming film will not be entirely in grayscale and will feature sequences in color, the director confirms. Read his full explanation of Oppenheimer‘s use of color below:
I very much loved the structural assistance and the aesthetic charge of shifting between color and black and white that I had on Memento. I’d always been looking for a reason to go back to that. And in the case of Oppenheimer and the way in which we tell this story, it’s very subjectively [told], but also with a more objective story strand that intertwines with that. It was really the perfect time to go back to that device that I loved so much.
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How Oppenheimer Could Be A Very Different Nolan Movie
Oppenheimer‘s use of black-and-white is one way that it set itself apart from Nolan’s past work. While the director has used black-and-white before on his microbudget debut feature Following (shot on 16mm film stock) and Memento (shot on 35mm anamorphic), Oppenheimer is the first large-format movie to ever shoot in black-and-white. To accomplish this unprecedented feat, Nolan and Kodak Photochem developed new film in order to shoot for the IMAX format in black-and-white.
Cillian Murphy has collaborated with Nolan on five previous films – The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk – though Oppenheimer will be his first lead role for the director. Murphy is also surrounded by a star-studded supporting cast that includes Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, and Gary Oldman, among others. While Nolan’s movies tend to feature large ensembles filled with notable stars, Oppenheimer‘s cast could stand out from the rest as possibly the best he’s ever assembled.
Also, as a historical biopic about the father of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer will be a bit of a departure from Nolan’s recent work, which has been mind-bending action spectacles. Despite being “a story of immense scope and scale,” as Nolan describes it, Oppenheimer signifies a return to his humble roots in Memento, which includes reviving the technique of shifting between color and black-and-white. Now with Universal, Oppenheimer will be Nolan’s first film since Memento not distributed by Warner Bros. when it releases in theaters on July 21, 2023.
More: Oppenheimer Is A Big Nolan First (But Pays Off A Career Trend)
Key Release Dates
Oppenheimer
Release Date:2023-07-21
