The Two Movies Cillian Murphy Watched To Prepare For Oppenheimer
“Oppenheimer” is huge. It’s one of Christopher Nolan’s most massive movies, a sprawling epic that covers the life and times of J. Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb. The film spans several years of Oppenheimer’s life, zeroing in on specific time periods — specifically the lead-up to the building of the bomb, and then the aftermath when Oppenheimer’s career was destroyed due to his leftist leanings. As I wrote in my review, “Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ is nothing short of extraordinary. In what might be his magnum opus, Nolan has meticulously crafted a biopic that feels like a thriller. He’s also managed to find a way to make 3 hours of people sitting in rooms talking at each other downright exciting.”
Like all movies, “Oppenheimer” draws on films that came before it. It owes a debt or two to Oliver Stone’s “JFK,” in how it’s a star-studded, 3-hour epic about grave decisions, and Nolan has cited Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Mirror” as an inspiration, too. And Nolan isn’t the only one drawing on other works. His star Cillian Murphy also turned to films for inspiration. Per the Independent, when it came time to make the movie, Murphy watched two specific movies as research. This was all part of Murphy’s process to “connect with and find the truth” of his character.