Christopher Nolan’s 3-hour biopic about the ‘father of the atomic bomb’ focuses on the legal battle that J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) faced after the Second World War, led by Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.), who sought to discredit him as a member of the Communist Party and an enemy of America.

Much has been made of the film’s visual splendour, and how pioneering writer-director Nolan is the first to shoot black-and-white footage on IMAX 70mm film. Nolan has also said time and again that he has not used any CGI, even for the atomic blasts. There’s no denying the film looks good, but it’s really a talking-heads, court-case film, with a couple of countryside and inferno shots thrown in to justify the price of admission.

Why the film really does merit seeing in the cinema is due to the overwhelming sound design (Richard King, Willie D. Burton) and music (Ludwig Göransson). Göransson’s soundtrack is a work of art, combining the edgy, chamber strings sound of Psycho (1960) with modern, Zimmer-like digital manipulation. It underscores most of the film, in some cases obscuring dialogue (in true Nolan fashion). Music also bleeds into hallucinogenic sound design, in order to convey Oppenheimer’s inner world, when visuals and dialogue can’t.

The film is based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, and it shows. Nolan’s adaptation tries its hardest to be cinematic, but it’s ultimately a cerebral, legalistic experience. It would probably work better as a play.

Playing in cinemas across the United States and United Kingdom from 21 July 2023.