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The Complete Works Ep. 104: Christopher Nolan – OPPENHEIMER (2023)

·40 min·2 clips

Christopher Nolan makes Oppenheimer about destruction without showing gunfights, car chases, or much violence.

This episode wraps up Doug Hess’s Christopher Nolan run for now. He explains that the show moves film by film through a filmmaker’s career, then settles into a relaxed conversation about *Oppenheimer*. The cast gets attention early, with Matt Damon, Jason Clarke, Casey Affleck, and Gary Oldman among the many names he calls out in the very large ensemble. Gary Oldman’s brief turn as President Truman stands out to him despite its small size. Hess says the performances that stuck with him most were Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., and Emily Blunt. He comes back to those three as the clearest impressions from the film, and says learning more about how they prepared and leaned into the roles made their characters more enjoyable afterward. The talk then moves into comparison mode. He says some of the film’s back-and-forth structure reminded him of *Memento*. He treats that resemblance as a reference point rather than a criticism, and says it never took over the film or changed his opinion of it. He then turns to the special effects and the attention around the 70mm IMAX presentation, calling the spectacle memorable. From there, he compares the effects work to *Inception*, *Interstellar*, and *Tenet*, and says *Oppenheimer* comes out ahead there. The closing section thanks listeners, points them toward Filmbook and the show’s social channels, and says the next series will start with Tom Cruise, beginning with *Endless Love* from 1981.

As heard by us

A conversational Nolan sendoff centered on Oppenheimer's cast, IMAX presentation, and standout performances.

Doug Hess closes out his Christopher Nolan run with a plainspoken look at Oppenheimer, keeping the focus on the large cast, the 70mm IMAX presentation, and the performances that land most clearly.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a calm, no-frills Nolan recap of Oppenheimer.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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