This past weekend, ‘Oppenheimer’ set the record for highest grossing film set in World War II, running up a total of over $500 million. With many critics being left shocked with how fast an R-rated movie flew past the threshold, there is a lot of hype surrounding the film – but many moviegoers still feel hesitant diving into a film of its length.
With a run time clocking in at 3 hours, much of our society has seen sitting down and watching the film as a daunting task – but have no fear – Christopher Nolan knows how to keep our Tik-Tok loving brains intrigued and wanting more.
For starters, let’s not gloss over the fact that the invention and use of the atomic bomb is one of the – if not the – most pivotal moments in modern world history that affects our daily lives as we know them to a level so severe, we may not know its effects for generations to come. With this being said, an event so significant deserves whatever length it needs.
While the movie itself was shot in 57 days – a rather quick pace for the length and cinematic power of the film – Christopher Nolan’s pacing is key to keeping us locked in.
The movie feels quick. Nolan’s use of constant scene jumping and cross-cutting is athletic and keeps the film flowing with a steady and athletic feel. It’s with this that I think the film finds its rhythm that resonates with our 15-to-30 second clip addicted society. Whether a conscious cinema graphic choice by Nolan or not – this pacing resonates with the modern day viewer, making this three hour beast feel digestible and more like a reasonably portioned dish than an insurmountable buffet platter.
Along with the smooth feel, Nolan again keeps our intention with certain extremely intensified moments – whether it’s with rapid 5-second clips of colorful nuclear fission paired with deep guttural ambient noise, or long-shots focused in on a character’s expression – allowing us time to read their body language without our analysis of dialogue – something we as humans naturally do.
One more aspect of the film that keeps us naturally intrigued is the score. Even some of the least intense shots of the film are married with some of the most intense music in the film, keeping us on the edge of our seats, with our heart rates beating – even when considering the context of the scene, we don’t need to be. That’s how good the pairing is. Lush background music is playing almost constantly, even though all the flashbacks, conversations, and hearings, ascending in pitch and keeping us on edge – and of course you don’t realize it’s going until it isn’t – which is when silence becomes deafening – I’ll let you see the movie.
So please, don’t be scared of the three-hour run-time. If you really have to, use your bathroom break wisely, turn your phone’s brightness all the way down if you’re going to check it, and maybe eat enough overpriced movie theater snacks to make you not want to move. Whichever way you need to get through it, go see ‘Oppenheimer’.