[Quick Summary: After Dr. Oppenheimer develops the atomic bomb at Los Alamos, NM, he suffers a politically motivated investigation.]
I liked, but didn't love, this script. On the plus side, it did show me something I'd not seen before, i.e, being written in Oppenheimer's first person POV.
On the negative side, it is mostly dialogue, so there are fewer visuals on the page.
My favorite one (below) is a wonderful economy of writing.
- Oppenheimer has come to consult Einstein on whether to go forward with atomic energy research that could destroy the world. He shows him his research (papers).
- You can almost see the action IN the dialogue (but not "telling").
- I love how Einstein handing back that piece of paper has a deeper meaning in the very last line. It symbolizes responsibility.
EXT. LAKE, INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY - MOMENTS LATER
EINSTEIN: And here we are, lost in your quantum world of probabilities, but needing certainty.
OPPENHEIMER: Can you run the calculations yourself?
EINSTEIN: About the only thing you and I share is a distain for mathematics. Who's working on it at Berkeley?
OPPENHEIMER: Hans Bethe.
EINSTEIN: He'll get to the truth.
OPPENHEIMER: And if the truth is catastrophic?
EINSTEIN: Then you stop. And share your findings with the Nazis, so neither side destroys the world.
I turn to leave.
EINSTEIN (CONT'D): Robert? (holding out paper) This is yours. Not mine.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: In this dialogue heavy script about big ideas (there's a lot of telling), I really appreciated a simple visual symbol (showing).
Oppenheimer (2023)(revised, 1/3/22)
by Christopher Nolan
Based on the book, "American Prometheus The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer", by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
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