At the end of Oppenheimer, Kitty refuses to shake the hands of Edward Teller (Ben Safdie) and she has a good reason why. Chris Nolan marks his first project with Universal after exiting Warner Bros. with a three-hour biopic that tackles the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, particularly his involvement in the infamous Manhattan Project. Based on the biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. The film features Cillian Murphy in the title role. He is surrounded by a star-studded ensemble that includes Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss and Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty Oppenheimer.
The story of Oppenheimer takes place over several years. It showed the iconic theoretical physicist long before he was recruited to spearhead the secret program at Los Alamos. While the film puts a heavy focus on the process of actually creating the atomic bombs that were eventually used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the aftermath of Oppenheimer’s involvement in the Manhattan Project was also tackled. In fact, the bulk of Strauss and Oppenheimer’s conflict was due to the latter’s security clearance hearing, in which Teller played an integral role.
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Kitty Wouldn’t Forgive Edward Teller For Testifying Against Oppenheimer
Years after Oppenheimer was stripped of his security clearance, his reputation was somehow repaired. At the end of the Oppenheimer film, he was seen in the White House receiving the Enrico Fermi Award from President Lyndon B. Johnson, which may have felt like a vindication after he was shunned. The event also marked his reunion with Teller, whose testimony during his security clearance hearings was damning enough to bolster the propaganda to cast him aside. Despite Teller’s betrayal, Oppenheimer still shook his hand when his fellow scientist extended it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case with Kitty, who just coldly stared at him, forcing Teller to simply walk away.
Nolan’s Oppenheimer film made it clear that Oppenheimer was more laid back when approaching his biggest career crisis. In fact, there wasn’t a single time when he overtly expressed his emotions about the matter. He remained calm, even when the private panel intensely interviewed him. Things were different with Kitty, on the other hand. She was fired up and frustrated with Strauss’ scheming. Multiple times, she asked her husband to fight back. The fact that Kitty refused to shake Teller’s hand years after the controversial hearings, not to mention just seeing Oppenheimer doing it, showed that she never forgave him for testifying against her husband.
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Why Oppenheimer Forgave Edward Teller
Oppenheimer was clearly a brilliant man who likely found a logical way to forgive Teller for his so-called “betrayal.” Just because they had worked together on the Manhattan Project didn’t necessarily secure a lifetime of loyalty, which is evidenced by Teller stating that he didn’t believe Oppenheimer should hold any policymaking title. Oppenheimer was clearly the star of the show during the Manhattan Project, and Teller could have felt slighted and cast off as being left in his shadow. Still, after the great success of the atom bomb that led to a World War II victory, Oppenheimer still held the professional integrity to shake Teller’s hand.
Why Kitty’s Refusal To Shake Edward Teller’s Hand Proves How Different She Was Compared To Oppenheimer
In the Oppenheimer film, Oppenheimer had two love affairs. The first one was his whirlwind tryst with Tatlock, which eventually played a role in his security clearance hearings, considering her ties to the Communist Party of the USA. Eventually, he married Kitty, a biologist and former Communist. While Tatlock and Oppenheimer both had milder demeanors, Kitty was different. She was fiercely protective during the security clearance hearings. Kitty was angry, answering back with sass and wit, making sure that people knew about it, unlike her husband who was civil and mostly calm during the interviews.
Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer is a film by Christopher Nolan, which follows the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man behind the atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy will play the titular role, with the story based on the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.
- Release Date
- July 21, 2023
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Cast
- Cillian Murphy , Emily Blunt , Matt Damon , Robert Downey Jr. , Rami Malek , Florence Pugh
- Runtime
- 150 Minutes
- Writers
- Christopher Nolan
- Budget
- $100 Million
- Studio(s)
- Syncopy Inc. , Atlas Entertainment
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
