The Least Appreciated Part Of Oppenheimer Is Why The Movie Works So Well

Oppenheimer was a massive commercial success due in part to the brilliant acting and tension created by director Christopher Nolan, but one of the least appreciated parts of the movie also contributed to it doing so well. Oppenheimer earned almost $1 billion at the box office before it was released on digital platforms earlier this month, and it was well-received by critics and audiences alike. Seemingly everyone who saw the movie found something they liked, whether it was the performances, historical accuracy, or visual effects.

Based on the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird, Oppenheimer featured one of the most impressive casts in recent movie history. Stars Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon have received praise for conveying the weight of the film’s message and meaning. However, other less-appreciated roles in the film gave it a fullness and depth that allowed it to focus on more than just Robert Oppenheimer and his efforts to build an atomic bomb for the United States.

Oppenheimer’s Realistic Villains Are The Key To Christopher Nolan’s Movie Working

Oppenheimer presents incredible tension and conflict without ever showing the enemies the U.S. fought in World War II, but the other “bad guys” are personal and unnerving without needing to be overtly villainous. Roger Robb (Jason Clarke), the attorney hired by Lewis Strauss to question Oppenheimer, badgers Oppenheimer in a tight, crowded room, creating a feeling of claustrophobia that the lead — and audience — can’t escape. Meanwhile, Boris Pash (Casey Affleck) is a terrifying U.S. military officer whose reputation as a brutal killer also presents danger to Oppenheimer. His piercing interrogation is one of the best moments of Oppenheimer.

These two characters, and other secondary villains, are brought to life by great actors who make them seem intimidating and nefarious without being overtly evil. They provide a deeper conflict for Oppenheimer than just pitting his team against a clock, and they even pose more of a threat than Lewis Strauss attempting to discredit him with the Atomic Energy Commission. Their inclusion allows the movie to go beyond its premise of building the atomic bomb, developing rich meaning and tension in the third act as these “villains” seek to undermine Oppenheimer’s work.

The Villains Break Up The Oppenheimer & Strauss Conflict

Throughout Oppenheimer, the core conflict outside the bomb-building is the one raised by Lewis Strauss, who claims Oppenheimer is a madman who overstepped all reasonable bounds to create something that could wipe out cities. That is the main human conflict of the movie, but the villains played by Clarke, Affleck, and others present challenges that give the story more subplots to break up its main one. Their portrayals show that the path for Oppenheimer to succeed was not a smooth one laid out by lawmakers. Instead, it was littered with doubters and skeptics.

Oppenheimer is a movie that accurately portrays the multiple layers of Oppenheimer as a man, as well as the complex moral issues behind building the world’s first atomic weapon. The ending of Oppenheimer is able to pull various levers to show how difficult the work of Oppenheimer and his team must have been — and that it didn’t end with a successful detonation and deployment to the military. Despite being a movie centered around a war, Oppenheimer uses villains as hurdles to Oppenheimer’s work, creating a far more effective threat than a ticking clock.