A good piece of art lets you connect with it and changes you in some way. Is it possible, though, to connect with the contradictory figure of the atom bomb inventor? Looking into the magnetic eyes of Cillian Murphy, I tend to say “Yes”. In “Oppenheimer”, renowned writer-director Christopher Nolan shows us not just a biopic, he explores the far corners of the physicist’s riddled mind and does it – as usual – with style and brilliance. Together with his DP Hoyte van Hoytema, they developed an emotional camera language where close-ups of Oppenheimer became the central tool of visual storytelling. Here, we take a look at the technical side and all the challenges this decision brought with it. Not only did “Oppenheimer” mesmerize millions of cinema visitors last summer, but also the epic got 13 Academy Award nominations, leading this year’s Oscar race. The film competes in all the major categories including Directing, Cinematography, Best Picture, Film Editing, and three Actor divisions. While to some degree “Oppenheimer” seems to be an untypical movie for Nolan (for one, we didn’t leave the theatre with a jumbled mess of thoughts and puzzled looks), it still carries a lot of his creative handwriting. As an example, extreme attention to important details resulted in emotional yet very challenging close-ups of Oppenheimer. Film stills from “Oppenheimer” by Christopher Nolan, 2023 In the ASC clubhouse conversation, Nolan’s longtime partner Hoyte van Hoytema shares behind-the-scenes stories of their filmmaking process, and we picked some of the...
Published By: CineD - Monday, 4 March, 2024