"It worked." Those are the quiet words spoken in "Oppenheimer" after the Los Alamos trial of the atomic bomb, the whispery quality of the remark in dramatic contrast to one of the most momentous events of the 20th century.
The entire movie turns on similar nuances.
J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) is called a hero because the invention he spearheaded ended World War II. But he's also described, by the man who hired him for the project (Matt Damon as Gen. Leslie Groves), as "a dilettante, a womanizer, a suspected communist, unstable, theatrical, romantic." He worked hard to finish the bomb but mourned the results. He loved his wife but cheated on her repeatedly. He refused to betray a friend, knowing he was betraying his family instead. "Oppenheimer" gives its leads so many failings that it's hard to identify his tragic flaw. Arrogance, maybe?
