Paul Schrader is officially a reformed Christopher Nolan boss.
The director “Master Gardener” and “Card Counter” took to his personal Facebookwhere he regularly posts candid one-offs reflecting on current cinema and politics, to share his own Very high praise for Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.”
“OPPENHEIMER. The best and most important film of this century. If you see one movie in theaters this year it should be Oppenheimer. I’m no Nolan groupie, but this one blows doors off their hinges,” Schrader wrote, sharing a photo of him with Nolan.
When asked by a commentator whether “Oppenheimer” is worth what for many will be a long journey to see it in Nolan’s preferred 70mm IMAX format, Schrader replied, “It’s worth the trip.”
Schrader’s reaction resonates with other early reactions from the film’s recent previews in Paris and London – with the cast walking out of the latter before the screening even began due to the onset of the SAG-AFTRA strike. Critics called the film “incredible” and “epic” in every sense. New York Magazine critic Bilge Two, for example, tweeted“A relentlessly paced, insanely detailed and intricate historical drama that builds and builds and builds until Nolan brings down the hammer in the most startling and shocking way,” from the London premiere.
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Inspired by the 2005 book “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, “Oppenheimer” centers on Manhattan Project leader J. Robert Oppenheimer as he grapples with the moral repercussions of the invention of the atomic bomb. Also in the cast are Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr., with Downey calling “Oppenheimer” “the best movie I’ve ever been in.”
“I can’t wait for you all to experience it,” Downey told the audience at the UK premiere shortly before the cast dropped due to SAG-AFTRA work stoppage orders coming into effect.
There are no significant negative reviews yet for “Oppenheimer,” though this week the reviews will eventually drop when Universal Pictures opens the film on July 21. -tainted version of “Tenet” (presumably, though, that studio wants it back).
“Oppenheimer” takes over all IMAX screens in North America for the first three weeks of its run.
