History is the greatest storyteller, cutting deep and true to all within its grasp. The past is ripe for dramatic inspiration, with some stories revived thanks to cinema’s keen eye. Enter Christopher Nolan, whose 12th feature is an operatic epic of history’s justice, brilliantly captured in quite possibly his greatest screenplay to date.
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Within Oppenheimer’s three-hour runtime, people of the past become characters of the current, speaking eloquently about everything from quantum theory to American politics. With one of the best-assembled Hollywood casts to speak said lines, Oppenheimer has officially become the highest-grossing World War II movie of all time, having brought in $559 million at the worldwide box office. It’s the perfect time to revisit some of the soon-to-be-iconic quotes from the film.
Oppenheimer
Release Date July 21, 2023
Director Christopher Nolan
Cast Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr.
Genres War, Biography, Drama
10 “Zero would be nice.”
Gen. Leslie Groves
Image via Universal Pictures
When Oppenheimer (played by frequent Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy) only assures General Groves (Matt Damon) of a “near-zero” chance that the atmosphere will be engulfed in flames and kill the planet, Groves returns with this clever retort. It’s understandably not a comforting exchange, given the risk of the atomic bomb actually ending all life on earth.
For a dark perspective into the human soul, the film does find moments of levity, most commonly in the character of Groves through some of the more lighthearted quotes from Oppenheimer. However, this line from Oppenheimer also underscores the unknowns of what the Trinity Test would actually unearth, notching up the tension at a key moment.
9 “We’re not convicting – just denying.”
Lewis Strauss
Image via Universal Pictures
Spoken by Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.) during his duplicitous meeting with William Borden (David Dastmalcian) when planning their attack letter on Oppenheimer, this quote embodies Strauss’ personal justification for tearing down Oppenheimer’s social stature and solidifies him as an unforgettable villain from the movie.
It’s a line that epitomizes Strauss’ professional pursuits. Later, he states the line again when he realizes his chance at becoming Commerce Secretary is unlikely after Dr. David Hill’s (Rami Malek) congressional appearance. Much like how “I am become Death” is the bookend for Oppenheimer’s growth, this line is the same for Strauss. Of course, paired with Robert Downey Jr.’s incredible supporting performance, Strauss would become a scene-stealing character.
8 “Power stays in the shadows.”
Lewis Strauss
Image via Universal Pictures
Lewis Strauss instantly became an iconic villain standing beside Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Noah Cross (John Huston) in Chinatown. Robert Downey Jr.’s assured performance crafted a believable opportunist, horrific for how common his breed of politician is to this day. What makes him such an effective antagonist is how familiar he seems, as viewers have seen his type of politician more than once on their TV screens.
This quote may as well be Strauss’ thesis, which is fitting given the black-and-white visual identity his scenes have. It’s a cold line that represents his objective and ultimately explains his downfall when he tries to emerge from the shadows unscathed after his manipulative actions against Oppenheimer. Strauss wanted power above everything, but lost whatever control he had when he made the wrong move.
7 “Is anyone ever going to tell the truth?”
J. Robert Oppenheimer
Image via Universal Pictures
As William Borden reads his inaccurate and inflammatory attack letter at the behest of the Gray Board and Roger Robb (Jason Clarke), Oppenheimer quietly utters this line to his attorney. The startling realization that dawns on Oppenheimer during his private trial that ultimately took away his security clearance is their ambivalence to the truth.
“Is anyone ever going to tell the truth?” With one line masterfully delivered by Cillian Murphy, the frustration, confusion, and absurdity of the whole circus is perfectly captured. It’s an example of when he recognizes his own naïveté and is shaken by the perils of the new world he finds himself in. While Oppenheimer is familiar with the methodical approaches of science, the unfair dance of politics is entirely new to him, and he finds himself in trouble.
6 “They won’t fear it until they understand it, and they won’t understand it until they’ve used it.”
J. Robert Oppenheimer
Image via Universal Pictures
While speaking to his scientific staff as they debate the necessity of the atomic bomb following Hitler’s suicide, Oppenheimer shares these words with a tonal gravity of desperation, expressing the bomb as a needed evil the world has to endure before this power is locked up for good.
The naïveté of Oppenheimer is glaringly apparent in how he thinks this one action would dispel nuclear war before it even begins. This quote allows the audience to understand the justification of the atomic bomb from its original inventors while painting a picture of what it was like when the power of this weapon was still a question mark. Despite the line and the implied logic behind dropping an atomic bomb, it’s hard to fully grasp why those scientists contributed to what they did.
5 “Hiroshima isn’t about you.”
President Harry S. Truman
Image via Universal Pictures
One of the more devastating lines from the film, after the bombings in Japan, has branded Oppenheimer “The Father of the Atomic Bomb,” he goes to visit President Truman (Gary Oldman). When he tells the 33rd President he has “blood on his hands,” Truman stiffly responds with this callous quote.
What’s so ugly about this exchange, ending with another distressing line when Truman interjects “Don’t let the crybaby back in here,” is that nobody, not even the President, truly understood the weight of what Oppenheimer had to endure – and, more importantly, the weight of what they have all done. “Hiroshima isn’t about you” is an underrated yet critical Oppenheimer quote that showcases how many individuals had to work together to reach their horrific goal of creating and dropping an atomic bomb.
4 “You don’t get to commit sin, and then ask all of us to feel sorry for you when there are consequences.”
Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer
Image via Universal Pictures
After the news of Jean Tatlock’s (Florence Pugh) suspected suicide riddles Oppenheimer with pain and heartbreak, Kitty (Emily Blunt) shakes him out of his stupor with this emotional movie quote. Seemingly disgusted by her husband’s reaction, she lets go of her restraint and for a brief moment shares her authentic self, a rare chance for her.
Nolan was unafraid to depict the horrors of this story with the ambiguity it clearly deserves. In his moment of suffering, Nolan doesn’t let Oppenheimer off easy. Kitty maintains a dignity because of this line that most filmmakers would pass up for a more traditional husband-wife dynamic. Far from being a passive onlooker, Kitty sees and understands Oppenheimer’s flaws, and stays by his side anyway.
3 “I believe we did.”
J. Robert Oppenheimer
Image via Universal Pictures
The shattering final words of Christopher Nolan’s screenplay find Oppenheimer admitting to Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) that he views his actions as changing the world for the worse. His act of discovery led humanity down a dark path with no escape, and his resigned line shows that he understands it’s out of his control at this point.
Reserved yet wholly impactful, the entire film approaches this moment when Oppenheimer finally admits the danger in his creation. As he looks at the ripples in the rain, he begins to understand the reality ahead of him, both in his lifetime and in history’s memory. A stunning quote that captures Oppenheimer’s central tenets with power, poise, and prestige.
2 “Why won’t you fight?”
Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer
Image via Universal Studios
Emily Blunt’s Kitty Oppenheimer is the underlying heartbeat of the film. A woman struggling to stand idly by as history consumes her, she repeats this line to her husband throughout, challenging him to write his own record of history.
The answer to the posed question – “Why won’t you fight?” – holds clarity to Oppenheimer’s character, especially his moral attitudes following the Trinity test. He is a shell of a man, as seen in the horrifying gymnasium speech, and finding the courage to object to history as it’s being written is at the very core of this quote. Kitty’s desperation and frustration are obvious in the short yet emotional line, highlighting everything the character has had to endure up to that point.
1 “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
J. Robert Oppenheimer
Taken from the Hindu sacred text the Bhagavad Gita, this infamous quote has been closely connected to the real-life Oppenheimer. Originally, he stated these words 20 years after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings on an NBC News documentary entitled The Decision to Drop the Bomb.
In the film, it is spoken twice: once in a sex scene with Jean Tatlock and later in the breathless wake of the Trinity test. The scientists transformative arc from curious intellectual to “the destroyer of worlds” is reflected in this infamous line. The quote bookends Oppenheimer’s journey, showing the transition from his idyllic intellectual desires to his confrontation with the lived truth behind the words.
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NEXT: The Best Supporting Performances in ‘Oppenheimer’, Ranked