“That’s much more powerful”: ‘Oppenheimer’ Author Defends Christopher Nolan From Critics Over 1 Controversial Aspect of the Film
Christopher Nolan’s biographical saga Oppenheimer has already taken over critically acclaimed projects like Margot Robbie’s Barbie, Emma Stone’s Poor Things, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Killers Of The Flower Moon Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, and Coleman Domingo’s American Fiction. After securing the front row at the Golden Globes Awards, Oppenheimer is leading in the race for the Oscars with the highest number of nominations.
However, Christopher Nolan was criticized for focusing more on the story of the legendary physicist and completely missing out on the Japanese side of the story. Oppenheimer Author Kai Bird defended Nolan during a literature fest in India.
Oppenheimer Author Kai Bird Defends Christopher Nolan From Critics Over A Controversial Aspect
During the Jaipur Literature Fest in India, Kai Bird spoke about Christopher Nolan and his magnum opus project Oppenheimer. While talking about Nolan focusing more on the life of the famous theoretical physicist and missing out on the Japanese side of the story, Kai Bird spoke about the reputed filmmaker’s narrative-
“I understand what Nolan was doing there. The movie, in large part, is from Oppenheimer’s point of view. In fact, a large part of the screenplay is in the first person. So you’re learning all this history from his perspective. It’s clear in the movie that he’s deeply pained and emotional about the tragedy of the loss of lives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But he was never there. He never saw it,”
While talking about the victory speech scene in Oppenheimer, Bird even defended Nolan and went on to explain how the talented filmmaker gave a very clear depiction of the condition of Japan post-bombings. He said-
“Nolan has a point of showing a scene of Oppenheimer watching a newsreel and you can see him very disturbed. Likewise, there’s another scene where he’s giving this victory speech and he’s hallucinating that there’s a woman in the audience whose face melts. I think that’s powerful. He’s forcing the viewers to imagine for themselves what happened on-ground in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And that’s much more powerful than showing old news clips of the destroyed cities with no people in it,”
Oppenheimer is based on American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer authored by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters of 2023.
Christopher Nolan Honors Heath Ledger During His Golden Globe Acceptance Speech
Oppenheimer is ruling this award season. The colossal success of Oppenheimer brought Christopher Nolan his first Golden Globe award in the category of Best Director of a Motion Picture. During the acceptance speech, the Inception director left everyone teary-eyed when he honored the phenomenal actor Heath Ledger. He said-
“The only time I’ve ever been on this stage before was accepting one of these on behalf of our dear friend, [the late] Heath Ledger, and that was complicated and challenging for me. And in the middle of speaking, I looked down at Robert Downey Jr., [who] caught my eye and gave me a look of support. The same look [he’s] giving me now — the same love and support he showed so many people in your community over the years,”
As Oppenheimer has already surpassed the $900 million mark at the box office, the Cillian Murphy-led project is gradually moving towards the billion-dollar club. With 13 nominations at the Oscars, Christopher Nolan’s biographical drama is expected to create records this award season.
Oppenheimer is available on Prime Video for rent.
