Report by Brad Balfour
Given the sweep that “Oppenheimer” made at this year’s Oscar ceremony — its 96th edition — the film has to be reckoned with in one way or another. It’s definitely a triumph for all involved not only for all its nominations but for its wins as well. There are many firsts — Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr. (as antagonistic bureaucrat Lewis Strauss) and for film editor Jennifer Lame. And of course, there were the many firsts for director Christopher Nolan himself and the production. “Oppenheimer ” collected seven Oscars including Nolan’s Best Director statuette. As a side note, it was a good night for the Irish film world; .directoe Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” — produced by Dublin’s Element Pictures — won four awards including Emma Stone’s Best Actress Oscar.
Nolan’s blockbuster clinched every major guild and industry accolade — Golden Globes, Critics Choice, DGA, BAFTA, SAG and PGA — the first movie to have a “perfect season” since “Argo” (2012). The Universal Pictures biopic didn’t quite match the record set by 1961’s “West Side Story,” which claimed 10 awards — the second most in history. But it did have a huge box office which will exceed one billion dollars after all is said and done.
The lead acting race was more uncertain but ultimately, it was clinched by Cillian Murphy, not only thanks to the “Oppenheimer” dominance and his sterling performance, but also because of the film’s importance. Based on the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer (born Julius Robert Oppenheimer), this American theoretical physicist was director of the Manhattan Project’s Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II and is often called the “father of the atomic bomb.” Born in New York City, his legacy became timeless and ironic even though he only lived from April 22, 1904 to February 18, 1967.
This scientist of Jewish origin was the focal point for a device that has had the potential to create a global holocaust. far greater than any other. Ironically, holocausts of one kind or another have been a focus for certain Irish actors, the first being Liam Neeson who starred in Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler List.” Based on “Schindler’s Ark” by Irish-Australian novelist Thomas Keneally, Spielberg waited 10 years to make the film as he did not feel “mature” enough. Like Nolan, both had started with making sci-fi hits, then when they pivoted to make a film of such social import, their respective non-genre related title became the career builder for an already great director. And it was Spielberg himself who presented Nolan his director’s award on Sunday night.
Cork-born Murphy became the first Irish actor to win a Best Actor Academy Award Sunday night. He is the second Irish citizen to win the accolade alongside London-born Daniel Day-Lewis, who is both an Irish citizen and resident. To quote Murphy while making his acceptance speech in the ultimate spotlight: “Chris Nolan and Emma Thomas – it’s been the wildest, most exhilarating, most creatively satisfying journey you’ve taken me on over the last 20 years. I owe you more than I can say. [And] Yvonne McGuinness, my partner in life and art, my two boys, Malachy and Aran, who are sitting up there, I love you so much. I am a very proud Irishman standing here tonight.”
Added Murphy. “We made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb, and for better or worse we’re all living in Oppenheimer’s world, so I would really like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.”
Born May, 25th, 1976, in Douglas, Cork, Murphy’s mother taught French while his father, Brendan, worked for the Department of Education. His grandfather, aunts, and uncles were also teachers. Raised in Ballintemple, Cork, alongside younger brother Páidi and younger sisters Sile and Orla, he started writing and performing songs at 10-years-old. Though his creative life began with rock music, he soon shifted to theater.
After seeing Corcadorca’s stage production of “A Clockwork Orange,” Murphy began focusing on acting. Though he had some early success being cast as a lead in several local theater productions, he later admitted that his primary motivation at the time was, not to pursue an acting career, but to go to parties and meet women.
But then, the Irish actor made his professional debut in Enda Walsh’s 1996 play “Disco Pigs,” a role he later reprised in the 2001 screen adaptation. His early film credits include Danny Boyle’s zombie horror film “28 Days Later” (2002), the dark comedy “Intermission” (2003), the thriller “Red Eye” (2005), the Irish war drama “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” (2006), and Boyle’s science fiction thriller “Sunshine” (2007). When he played a transgender Irish woman in the comedy-drama “Breakfast on Pluto” (2005), he earned a Golden Globe Award nomination. Then, Murphy won the Drama Desk Award for the 2011 one-man play “Misterman.”
Then, in 2005, Murphy began his collaboration with filmmaker Christopher Nolan, playing the Scarecrow in “The Dark Knight” trilogy (2005–2012). He then appeared in “Inception” (2010) and “Dunkirk” (2017). But the actor really gained prominence for his role as Birmingham gang boss Tommy Shelby in the BBC period drama series “Peaky Blinders” (2013–2022) and for starring in “A Quiet Place Part II” (2020), the sequel to the horror sci-fi movie.
“Oppenheimer” marks the sixth collaboration between Nolan and Murphy, and the first with Murphy as the lead. To prepare for the role, Murphy lost a significant amount of weight to match Oppenheimer’s near-emaciated appearance, extensively researched the scientist’s life and took inspiration from David Bowie’s appearance in the ’70s. Released in summer, 2023, the film became an event to see after its back-to-back release with “Barbie” — a buzz film which racked up its own noms and award wins. Murphy’s performance was lauded, with Empire’s Dan Jolin writing: “At the film’s pulsing nucleus is Murphy as Oppenheimer, and he is compelling throughout.”
“Oppenheimer” was the end result of a process that began in the mid-’80s, Nolan first heard the name in a song by Sting about the Cold War, and continued when he read “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” — the book which was tapped for much of the narrative of the film. When Nolan began to see the lead role fit for Murphy, who he once considered to play Batman, the stars aligned for them to build a masterpiece.
Until the winter of 2020, the director had been loyal to Warner Bros., and their logo was affixed on every film that Nolan either wrote, directed or produced previously. But In some ways, “Oppenheimer,” Nolan’s biggest non-superhero movie, was a product of the pandemic. So he made various life changes and then he switched to Universal, which threw its muscle behind the production. This ascension occurred and history was made.