While Barbie triumphed with a staggering $1 billion at the box office, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer shouldn’t be overlooked. In a year where dramas faced challenges, Nolan managed to draw crowds to theaters with his adaptation of American Prometheus, a Pulitzer-winning biography about J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. The film’s compelling portrayal of the physicist’s journey in creating the atomic bomb has truly captivated audiences.
For the accomplished director, a pivotal factor in captivating audiences was immersing them in the moments just before the infamous 1945 Trinity Test, the initial trial of the bomb. However, Nolan might have offended the late scientist’s son.
Why Is Robert Oppenheimer’s Son Offended By The Film
A historical event somewhat inaccurately depicted in Oppenheimer is the well-known apple incident. Within the movie, Oppenheimer places a cyanide-laced apple on the desk of his Cambridge mentor, Patrick Blackett, in a twisted act of retaliation for being embarrassed during Blackett’s class. This leads to one of Oppenheimer’s initial ethical struggles, prompting him to hurriedly remove the apple before Blackett can consume it.
However, the actuality of the situation is significantly less clear-cut. As anticipated, Oppenheimer’s grandson held reservations about the apple incident’s inclusion in Nolan’s biographical film. Charles Oppenheimer, whose father Peter grew up in the vicinity of Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project era, shared his perspective with TIME magazine after the movie’s debut.
He expressed that he “definitely would have removed the apple thing” and highlighted that, according to the book American Prometheus, the authors themselves noted uncertainty about the incident, stating, “We don’t really know if it happened.” No historical records indicate any attempt by Oppenheimer to harm someone.
“I saw them film and, in that particular scene, Cillian Murphy walks into a room and part of his line was calling someone an ‘a*****e.’ And when I went back to Santa Fe and told my dad, he was horrified. He said, ‘Robert Oppenheimer never swore. He was such a formal person. He would never, ever do that.’ And I was like, ‘Well, it’s a dramatization.’ But I was worried that in the movie he would be this swearing, abusive guy. Anyway, I think he said one swear word in the movie and I just happened to be in the room,” Charles Oppenheimer said.
But the inaccurate scenes could be credited to the cinematic liberty that directors take.
Charles Oppenheimer Did Not Hate The Film
Importantly, despite the artistic liberties Christopher Nolan exercised in shaping Oppenheimer, Charles Oppenheimer appeared to appreciate the end result. He conveyed to TIME magazine that he found himself embracing and enjoying the film.
Charles Oppenheimer expressed that he perceived the film as a captivating narrative and found it artistically engaging. He further shared that he was pleasantly surprised by his positive reaction to the movie, as he hadn’t anticipated such a response.
Source: Slashfilm
