Shoutout to my high school AP history teacher who told our class that “if any US President is in hell, it’s Abe Lincoln” but who also gave us extra credit if we went to see this movie. In some ways, that man was an enigma. In most ways, he was stupid.
Anyway this movie is much better than I thought back then. Thrilling, poignant, and complex with an all-timer cast that is only more impressive today (Jeremy Strong sure does stare lovingly at DDL).
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Early on in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, a professor is quite rude to the eponymous protagonist. In response, Oppy poisons his apple. The scene—which apparently really happened—is critical to the film. For starters, it shows a man that is willing to violently retaliate against wrongdoing. And then in showing him sprint back to dispose of the apple the next day, it also shows a man who regrets his actions, but only after living with them for a bit. These two points…
