The First 42 Minutes of Oppenheimer (2023)

by Jonathan M. Katz

This movie was an obvious fit for me, given my interest in history and biography—especially as concerns World War II (I am, in the final analysis, a dad)—and a lifelong aspiration to appear as if I understand higher-level science and math. But since my second daughter was born weeks before it went into wide release, the odds that I would have three consecutive hours in which to watch it were unfavorable. 

A year later, my kids, having temporarily found a coherent sleep schedule, presented the opportunity I was waiting for. I still only had the bandwidth and patience to watch it in chunks, though. What follows is a review of the only part of the movie I’ve had time to watch so far.