Uncovering the haunting true story behind Christopher Nolan's film Oppenheimer
Oscar award-winning director Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is hitting the big screen and is projected to be one of the biggest films of the year.
Inspired by real-life events, the star-studded movie portrays theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his creation of the atomic bomb - an invention that led to the world's first nuclear explosion that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians during World War II.
The highly anticipated biopic has captivated audiences led by it's A-list cast including Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., and Matt Damon.
The Interstellar director based the script on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer, published by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin in 2005, a detailed biography that took 25 years to write.
This is the first time the brilliant 'broken genius' J. Robert Oppenheimer has been portrayed in a feature-length film (AP)Murphy, after reading Nolan's script, in an interview with Forbes said: "The first extraordinary thing about it was that it was written in the first person, and I'd never read a script like that before. It was genuinely one of the best things I've ever read."
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Nolan took on the humbling task of portraying 'the father of the atomic bomb,' something he wanted make as 'personal and intimate' as possible. This is the first time Oppenheimer's brilliant 'broken genius' has been displayed in a feature-length film, and Nolan wanted to showcase every aspect of his life.
Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh share an on-screen romance in the new Oppenheimer movie (AP)Oppenheimer was the head physicist leading the Manhattan Project - a top-secret mission to develop nuclear weapons to be used in World War II in 1945. Oppenheimer and his team felt victorious after being the first to create the atomic bomb - sharing in excitement as their invention was deployed.
At the time, Oppenheimer said he didn't regret that thousands were killed, only that he didn't develop the bomb 'in time to use it against the Germans.'
Theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer was one of the most influential scientists of his time, leading the Manhattan Project during World War II (Corbis via Getty Images)This feeling of triumph quickly faded following the destruction of Nagasaki - the Japanese city bombed three days after Hiroshima.
Oppenheimer said the second bombing was 'unnecessary and unjustified' and was described as being a 'nervous wreck' after the event. Oppenheimer told the President Harry S. Truman: 'Mr. President, I feel I have blood on my hands.'
The atomic bomb ended World War II and sent the world into panicked, frenzied state after the explosions killed between 129,000 and 226,000 civilians. To this day, this was the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict.
Actor Cillian Murphy shares that he felt exhausted but proud after wrapping up filming of the new Oppenheimer movie (AP)Nolan explained that he is not trying to send a political message and his only goal of the film is for audiences to reflect on the consequences of the event.
"I don’t want to make a didactic film ever," Nolan said in an interview with Vulture. He adds: "I don’t want to tell people what to think or send a specific message... there’s an inescapable nihilism that creeps in with the underlying reality that he changed the world in a way that can never be changed back.”
After filming wrapped, Murphy recalled: "I was exhausted, but in a very satisfying way," he added: "I really felt like we have done something special."
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