Since their release, the Barbenheimer has become a global phenomenon. Here are the reviews of the worthy double feature
Blast from the Past
An in-depth look at Oppenheimer: The Story of Human’s Insatiable Appetite for Destruction
* Contains spoilers
Giving head-to-head competition to Greta Gerwig’s ode to feminism, Barbie is Christopher Nolan’s chilling biopic. Oppenheimer was eagerly awaited around the world ever since its announcement in 2021. It chronicles the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, better known as the ‘Father of the Atomic Bomb’. With subtext that is both glaring and understated, the movie is a true testimony to the sheer magnitude of violence humans are capable of and attracted to when they have the means to weaponise and wield it.
Released to the public on July 21, 2023, the movie has already grossed over $266 million worldwide. It has received high praise for its cast, visuals, score, direction and screenplay and has been called “bold”, “imaginative”, and “Nolan’s most mature work yet”. The sure-footedness of the film has been well received, as it never loses its sense of story and drama, and keeps even the most restless viewers glued to their seats for a little more than three hours. The movie has been lauded as a venerable combination of commercially appealing action and brain-racking content, reminiscent of films such as Inception.
Cillian Murphy is perfect for the role of Oppenheimer, with his cold, blue eyes and chilling restraint. The story makes its way from Robert’s days as a student to his time as a professor, and then to the Manhattan Project- a program to build nuclear weapons before rival scientists in enemy countries and end World War II. The film finds its base in the powerful biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin. Holding true to the book, it manages to successfully portray Oppenheimer as a thoughtful and tragic American protagonist who hurtles the world into unbounded catastrophe and later becomes a pawn for Washington politics.
The movie casts Florence Pugh as Oppenheimer’s love interest Jean Tatlock in the movie, while the role of Kitty, his wife is played by Emily Blunt. Both women do fair justice to their parts, as does Matt Damon, playing Leslie Groves, the down-to-earth army general leading the Manhattan Project. While each of these characters have their own charm and play a pivotal part in pulling the movie up to a certain level, the most compelling performance as a supporting character is perhaps that of Robert Downey Jr., who plays the insecure, cunning Lewis Strauss, former head of the US Atomic Energy Commission- and arch nemesis of Oppenheimer.
Once it is clear that nuclear weapons can mass destruction, Oppenheimer realises, a little too late, that the future of violence would forever remain under threat of the weapon he has created.
The movie ends on a befittingly sad note, with physicist Edward Teller, played by Benny Safdie, accusing Oppenheimer of being more of a politician than a physicist and his wife telling him he enjoys playing the martyr. Christopher Nolan portrays Oppenheimer here as naïve, believing he can be honest with President Truman and reasonably avoid a nuclear arms race, in spite of wholeheartedly believing that it was necessary to drop the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In his warped logic, he feels that it was important for the world to see the devastation that nuclear weapons could cause, so as to steer clear of them in future. He is woefully wrong in assuming that humans can resist power, however negative. Once it is clear that nuclear weapons can mass destruction, Oppenheimer realises, a little too late, that the future of violence would forever remain under threat of the weapon he has created.
The movie has received some criticism but these are few and far between. There are those, who say that the movie can sometimes feel more like a superhero origin movie than a biopic. In addition, the name-dropping of Einstein and other famous scientists also did not go down too well with certain groups of people. However, if one can overlook a few of Nolan’s most myopic faults, it can safely be said that the movie is a true work of art when it delves into Oppenheimer’s psychology and individual character study that truly represents a biopic masterpiece. All in all, it’s a historical biography that not just tugs at the heartstrings but also nudges the conscience to reconsider, and perhaps reconstruct, everything it knows about violence and human nature.
Barbie – She’s Everything!
An in-depth look at arguably the most popular movie of the year
*Contains spoilers
Barbie, a movie about the world’s first grown-up doll from Mattel, is making noises around the world. Touted as a feminist endeavour, Barbie is getting its fair share of applause, and why ever not? Without taking anything away from its bright pink, chirpy exterior, the movie has managed to take on burning issues such as patriarchy and sexism, contradictory human emotions, and equality with equal finesse.
When Barbie was first introduced to the children of the world, the feminists, and the body positivity advocates were livid. Here was a doll, perpetrating impossible beauty and body standards, and quickly becoming the object of admiration of young, impressionable children. It was a disaster in the making. The creators of Barbie were quick to react and they came out with the popular doll in a variety of skin tones, ethnicities, body types and professions. Since then, Barbie dolls have also been modelled after those with handicaps and Down’s Syndrome. It’s been a complete turnaround!
Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, has Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in lead roles. The story begins with a stereotypical doll waking up in an impeccable, pink world, and being greeted by other Barbies going about their day. The plastic world, complete with perfectly choreographed dance numbers and glittery outfits is happy, upbeat, and motivated. It is the Barbies that run it, while the Kens complement their female counterparts well. Without a single dialogue hinting at the problem of patriarchy in the real world, the subtle comparison to it is unmissable.
Being an epitome of perfection, all the time can be exhausting, even for Barbie and the way her existential crisis has been introduced in the movie is absolute genius. The doll has never once been manufactured with flat feet, but her interconnection to the real world makes her originally pointy toes go flat. She even begins to have thoughts of death, an unheard-of phenomenon in the ever-happy Barbie Land, although not so unheard of in the human world. Perplexed by these changes, Barbie goes to the ultimate social pariah of her world- Weird Barbie- who unceremoniously hands her a pair of brown flats and tells her that she must leave Barbie Land in search of a human child.
Without taking anything away from its bright pink, chirpy exterior, the movie has managed to take on burning issues such as patriarchy and sexism, contradictory human emotions, and equality with equal finesse.
Ken joins her on her first foray into the real world, and here, for the first time ever, Barbie is faced with sexism. As Barbie gets increasingly uncomfortable, Ken gets more and more elated. Reason? He has found patriarchy and is loving it. After living his entire life in Barbie’s afterglow, Ken finally has a fighting chance to shine. The movie from this point gains momentum and shows Ken and Barbie fighting for their individual rights. Throughout the movie, Greta Gerwig is in complete control and her directorial vision shines through each of these concepts. Not once does the movie seem heavy or deviate from its pink-washed outer shell. Instead, it cleverly disguises each of these uncomfortable issues in Ken’s deadpan humour, Barbie’s comic timing and Barbie Land’s deliberately uncomfortable faultlessness. It is easy to watch and easy to swallow, with almost always an ‘aha’ moment of realisation afterwards.
Take for instance, the scene where Barbie mistakes a billboard filled with women for the Supreme Court, simply because that’s what the Supreme Court looks like in Barbie Land. She’s wrong, of course, and the moment is a sharp sting to women living in the time of Roe v. Wade. The political allusions are sugar-coated in comedy but are sad reminders of all the unfunny ways in which the world has tried to push women into little boxes and tries to keep them there.
The movie could not have been easy to direct. Greta does an excellent job, stretching her creative freedom as far as possible, without disrespecting Mattel’s vision for its prized creation. Robbie shines as Barbie, giving depth to her role and making viewers realise that Barbie is more than just quintessential good looks and charm. This is all the better because Ken’s comic obtuseness and classic dance moves repeatedly, and most likely intentionally, upstage the main character.
As she decides to love her uncomfortable emotions and leave Barbie Land to choose life outside the box, the movie’s ending is a nod to Greta’s idea of what Barbie ‘could have been’. In spite of it being a tricky endeavour, the director sidesteps most criticisms with agility and grace and manages to steal the show with her creative genius. So, if viewers are wondering if the movie is the ultimate lesson for the world in equal rights, the answer is, yes- the feminism, painstakingly swathed in a sparkling fuchsia coverlet of Barbie Land is all things right.