Christopher Nolanis an ideas man. Some may critique the director forfavoring certain themes, but it’s rare for a creative to not revisit what resonates with them. In Nolan’s case, no one else utilizes blockbuster budgets to amplify artistic sensibilities more traditionally synonymous with indie filmmakers. Nolan’s concepts are wildly ambitious and psychologically compelling, a fact proven by how his name invokes an automatic “butts in seats” reaction among the general public and cinephiles alike. Hand-in-hand with his melancholic explorations of cosmic horror andthe cyclical nature of male egotism, Nolan brought something new to the table withOppenheimer: sex and romance.
Although many of Nolan’s past protagonists were caught in various entanglements of a tragic nature, the sex scenes he depicted inOppenheimerbetweenJ. Robert Oppenheimer(Cillian Murphy) andJean Tatlock(Florence Pugh) were anomalous territory for the director.Nolan admitted in an interviewthat he was nervous about breaking new ground. Regardless, he was adamant in his conviction that said moments provided “essential” insight intoOppenheimer’s titular character and his relationship with Jean. With that good faith in mind, it’s not an overwhelming success if your audience is left wondering what, exactly, they were supposed to learn.
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Why Does Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ Have Sex Scenes?
Depicting sex on screen, when done correctly andnot exploitatively likeSam Levinsontends to do, serves a purpose. Fictional intimacy can grant more insight into a character or a relationship than any line of dialogue. For Christopher Nolan to willingly explore new thematic territory in service of a stronger emotional core speaks to how the writer-director doesn’t rest on his laurels.Given Oppenheimer’s reputationas a womanizer and how his association with Jean doomed his political aspirations, Nolan wanted to convey an aspect of his protagonist that was otherwise hard to convey.
Nolan explained toInsider, “When you look at Oppenheimer’s life and you look at his story, that aspect of his life, the aspect of his sexuality, his way with women, the charm that he exuded, it’s an essential part of his story.” Nolan also shared, “It felt very important to understand their relationship and to really see inside it and understand what made it tick without being coy or allusive about it, but to try to be intimate, to try and be in there with him and fully understand the relationship that was so important to him.”
Ultimately,Nolan wanted his audience"to not judge" his subject, “but to understand him.” Emotional vulnerability goes a long way toward generating empathy.American Prometheus, the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography aboutthe theoretical physicist that Nolan basedOppenheimeron, recalled Jean as “Robert’s truest love. […] He was devoted to her.” Jean rejected Oppenheimer’s marriage proposals, butAmerican Prometheussuggests the pair reignited their affair during his marriage to his wife Kitty (Emily Blunt). Jean taking her life greatly affected Oppenheimer. HistorianGregg Herkenposits in his bookBrotherhood of the Bombthat Oppenheimer named the Trinity test after Jean, in a manner of speaking; Jean was a fan of poetJohn Donne, whose work Oppenheimer credits as inspiration for the Trinity title.
Within this context,Jean Tatlock’s lasting impact on Oppenheimer’s lifecan’t be questioned. Furthermore, if the man’s relationships “helped create him as a human being of feeling and character,” as asserted byPatricia KlausinAn Atomic Love Story: The Extraordinary Women in Robert Oppenheimer’s Life, then properly capturing that depth isn’t just important — it’s vitally necessary. So why doOppenheimer’s sex scenes generate about as much heat asFrozen’s crystal ice palace?
‘Oppenheimer’s Sex Scenes Don’t Say Anything New
Much like howOppenheimertries (consciously or unconsciously) to do better by itsfemale characters than previous Nolan filmsand falls short, Nolan’s intimate moments barely achieve more than a squeak from some foley mattress box-springs. Sure, Oppenheimer and Jean’s first encounter includes some apt foreshadowing and demonstrates Jean’s flinty, contrarian nature. In the middle of having sex, Jean hits the pause button to peruse Oppenheimer’s bookshelves. She plucks theBhagavad Gita, a Hindu text of immense spiritual, moral, and historical significance and part of the larger “Mahabharata” poem, off his shelves. She challenges him to read aloud a passage in Sanskrit, which Oppenheimer does. The line in question is none other than “I am become Death, destroyer of worlds,” the quote Oppenheimer famously recited after witnessing the atomic bomb’s apocalyptic power. Even Murphy, home to blazingly blue eyes and the world’s most impressive set of cheekbones, and Pugh, one of modern cinema’s most enrapturing talents, can’t keep the moment from ringing cold, stilted, and more pompous than harrowing.
To Nolan’s artistic credit, the second sexual moment between the couple doesn’t depict sex at all. Emotional vulnerability is the aim: both parties are naked post-coitus, after all, and nudity has always been an allegorical shorthand for fragility. The staging’s also deliberate: Oppenheimer and Jean sit across from one another in separate chairs rather than lie closely entangled. Oppenheimer explains how Jean’s ties to the Communist Party put his livelihood at risk. A mournful, haunted Jean reminds him about his promise to always provide her with emotional support. (The realJean lived with extreme depression.) In essence, the relationship’s power dynamics have reversed, as Pugh’s face is especially filled with telling remorse.
The problem with these scenes isn’t their inclusion but what they lack.We know Christopher Nolan can directthe hell out of any audacious feature he pleases. This man plumbs the depths of human consciousness and grapples with immense social ideas with an aficionado’s ease. It’s the quieter, more innately human and therefore relatable beats that too often feel like forced, oversimplified caricatures. Something as essential and commonplace as romance winds up empty and bland, going through the required mechanical motions. Ultimately, Nolan’s characters service the plot, not the other way around. Despite aiming for the opposite,Oppenheimeris no exception.
Christopher Nolan’s Old Habits Are ‘Oppenheimer’s Biggest Weakness
To be fair to Nolan, and with over two decades of evidence to examine, nuanced characterization isn’t his specialty. That’s perfectly fine, even natural, in some circumstances. Sex scenes and emotional intimacy aren’t automatic affinities for every director. Nolan’s mind-melting plots, eye for cinematic beauty, andlove for practical techniquesare usually enough to counterbalance any deficiencies. It’s those weaknesses, though, that contribute to the problems withOppenheimer’s sex scenes. Nolan’s tendency to not prioritize women’s viewpoints rather than craft three-dimensional individuals with agency is still at play throughout his historical magnum opus. InMementoandInception, the respective protagonists' wives existed in expository flashbacks and plagued them with excruciating guilt.Look up the dictionary definition for “acting as extensions of their husband’s stories,” and you’ll see pictures of both neo-noir thrillers.Marion Cotillardflourishes herInceptioncharacterwith some tragic bite, but that’s down to the actress’s singular talent.
Batman BeginsandThe Dark Knight, meanwhile,invented Rachel Dawes (Katie HolmesandMaggie Gyllenhaal) out of thin airrather than incorporate an existing comic book character. (And Gotham City has plenty of women of complex moral ambiguity.) Aside from being Bruce Wayne’s (Christian Bale) best childhood friend, rejecting his romantic advances, seeking happiness with Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), and brief glimpses of her belief in justice, what does Rachel bring to the wider story? Who even is this woman beyond her orbital rotation around two men? None of Bruce and Rachel’s scenes convince audiences of their chemistry or history. She’s a plot device for maximum angst. Affectionate familiarity practically springs from a well between Bruce and Alfred (Michael Caine) or Batman and Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) in comparison — men who happen to be active participants in the story.
In a three-hour featuretold through Oppenheimer’s subjective, biased viewpoint, some characters will inevitably lack depth. Every second is stockpiled, an inescapable ticking clock. But it’s disappointing for a pivotal romance, as well as Jean and Kitty’s characterizations, to bob above the surface level for just a moment before vanishing into the depths once more. When both parties fail to equally contribute to the narrative, lackluster romances result. Vulnerable character beats that include women and the radical scientific developments andferocious moral dilemmas ofOppenheimerneedn’t be mutually exclusive. While not exploitative (although Jean’s more nude than Oppenheimer, which is too stereotypically Hollywood by half), when it comes to how the sex scenes enriched Oppenheimer’s character or grounded his romance, the memo was missed.
The argument isn’t to exclude sex scenes and keep media puritanically sanitized. Far from it! As a two-decades-and-counting admirer of Christopher Nolan, I commend his earnest willingness to expand his horizons. Nonetheless, the prevailing emotion those sex scenes evoked is “mystified.” It’s a shame that this historical love affair’s ardency and its lasting relevancy failed to convince,even on a 70MM film reel.
