The Dichotomy of Barbenheimer

I did it. I partook in the viral trend of going to see Oppenheimer (dir. Christopher Nolan) and Barbie (dir. Greta Gerwig) on the same day. I’d like to start this off by saying that I was actually interested in seeing both films anyway, but I did go see both on the same day specifically because it’s a trend.

I saw Oppenheimer first, at around lunchtime, and then Barbie in the evening. I’d seen lots of conflicting opinions about which way round it was best to see them, but realistically, I just didn’t want to finish a 3 hour film that late at night, so it was Oppenheimer first. Now, let’s get into the films.

Oppenheimer (2023)

I have to confess, I’m not usually a Christopher Nolan fan, but this film was fucking fantastic. The cast? Incredible. The visuals? Stunning. The score? Mindblowing. Honestly a 10/10 film if you like that sort of thing, which obviously isn’t everyone, but it is me.

The Cast

The casting of this film is honestly pretty perfect, absolutely no notes on the choices. But let’s get into specifics. I’m going to keep each summary fairly short as I have two films to get through.

Cillian Murphy

Cillian Murphy as Dr J. Robert Oppenheimer

Admittedly, I haven’t seen Cillian Murphy in anything aside from the three episodes of Peaky Blinders I watched and Inception (which I’ve seen once) so I had very little idea what he’s like as an actor going into this film.

He definitely lived up to his reputation. His acting was phenomenal, and he managed to convey even the subtlest of emotions. Plus, his reactions to internal stimuli (what we, as the audience, can hear in the score but isn’t actually happening in the film) was fascinating to watch.

Emily Blunt

Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer

I love Emily Blunt. I’ve seen her in several things, she’s a great actor and she’s got RANGE (her character in The Devil Wears Prada will always be my favourite though). Plus, she also just seems like a really nice person?

Anyway, her role in this film isn’t huge, but she plays it very well. And, of course, her absolute bad bitch scene, which I won’t spoil just because it’s so good.

Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss

This was honestly the stand out performance for me. I’ve seen RDJ in very little outside of the MCU, and having played Iron Man for well over a decade (not the most challenging role) I wasn’t so sure how good this performance was going to be.

He fucking knocked it out the park, to be honest. Supremely talented, loved every single second of it and I can’t wait to watch him take on more challenging roles in the future.

Florence Pugh

Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock

I don’t know if you’re aware, but I fucking love Florence Pugh. She’s a fantastically talented actor, incredibly funny, and another person who can pull off any role she’s given. She only had a small part to play in this film, but it was an incredibly important and somewhat pivotal character in Oppenheimer’s life, and she played it very well.

I won’t lie, she’s the reason I originally wanted to see this film at the cinema. I would’ve watched it when it came out on streaming platforms, but I will literally take any excuse to watch her on the big screen. The Cinematic Pughniverse continues to expand, and I can’t wait to see what the next instalment will be.

Honorable mention: Matt Damon. Love Matt Damon, thought he was absolutely incredible in this film but, unfortunately, I have run out of space to talk about him because otherwise this blog will end up way too long.

The Score

Fucking incredible honestly, one of the best scores I’ve heard in ages. The score is composed by Ludwig Göransson, a Swedish composer who, now that I’ve googled him, looks remarkably like a vampire. Göransson has also worked on The Mandalorian, both Black Panther films, Tenet (also directed by Christopher Nolan) and he’s worked extensively with Childish Gambino, so you can see the level of talent we have here.

My favourite bit of the score is the scene where they test the bomb - known as Trinity. The score was that powerful that I actually found myself thinking ‘is it going to work?’ as if the film isn’t based on true events. I knew it worked, obviously, which just goes to show how good of a composer Ludwig Göransson is because how else am I just going to forget that the initial test was successful?

You can find the soundtrack album on Spotify and Apple Music, and the specific piece of music I’m talking is here:

Overall Rating

Overall, I give this film a 9/10. It was pretty perfect as far as films go, although it is overly long I feel. The run time is 3 hours, but realistically it probably would’ve been just as good a film if it was 30-45 minutes shorter.

Also, there was a particularly jarring sex scene in the middle of the film. I don’t think it was unnecessary, per say, but the way it cut from the previous scene to the sex scene sort of felt like a bit of a jumpscare, which I didn’t particularly enjoy. But other than that, it was a very well-rounded film and I would definitely recommend it if you’re a fan of biopics, war films, or any of the specific cast members.

Barbie (2023)

In contrast to me not being a massive Christopher Nolan fan, I am a HUGE fan of Greta Gerwig. Which is part of the reason I was so excited when this film was announced. Now, I was a My Little Pony girlie, not a Barbie girlie, so I didn’t have many of the Barbie dolls. I was, however, a huge fan of the Barbie movies (Barbie and the Twelve Dancing Princesses remains my favourite to this day) and, of course, The Most Popular Girls In School (a YouTube show using stop-motion animated Barbie dolls, extremely funny and not at all appropriate for kids).

I just knew with Greta Gerwig directing, this film was going to punch me right in the heart, and you know what? I was right. I cried in the cinema and I’m not sorry about it. The acting was phenomenal, the storyline was surprisingly poignant, and the soundtrack slapped. It was also very well-cast.

The Cast

First of all, I’m a flaming bisexual, so jot that down. This cast is so attractive I literally didn’t know what to do with myself half the time. Not only that, but they can all act. I mean, we been knew, but it’s almost unfair how good they all are for what at surface level, seems to be a very unserious film.

Same as Oppenheimer, I’ll keep this as short as possible.

Margot Robbie

Margot Robbie as Stereotypical Barbie

Love her. Watching the scene shown in the above picture, I just remember my jaw dropping and thinking ‘wow, she’s pretty’. The narrator was right, Margot Robbie is the wrong person to cast for someone unpretty.

Ignoring me being gay though, Margot Robbie is incredible in this film. The arc we see Barbie go on through this film is illustrated so well through everything she does, right down to the tiniest micro-expression. It’s all there. Absolutely impeccable performance.

Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling as Ken

Stellar casting here, to be honest. I don’t know if I had a single thought about who could possibly play Ken in a Barbie movie, but this was definitely the right choice.

Ryan Gosling’s comedic timing is absolutely on point and he has just the right amount of himbo energy, or rather Kenergy, to play this role to perfection. My one and only annoyance is that he has a little bit of stubble, because Ken doesn’t have that. But it’s whatever. He’s just Ken.

America Ferrera

America Ferrera as Gloria

I LOVE this woman. Criminally underestimated as an actress in my opinion, but hopefully that will change now. She lowkey highkey stole the show in this movie, and I couldn’t be happier about it, give her all the awards. I really hope she wins an Oscar for this performance, she deserves one. America Ferrera’s character is the centrepiece of the entire film, I just love her.

Greta Gerwig has this uncanny ability to cast the perfect person to give the most heart-wrenching, life-changing, unbelievable monologue you’ve ever heard in your life, and this movie was no different. America Ferrera’s delivery of her monologue is so raw and real and relatable, I actually can’t put into words how it made me feel. You’ll just have to watch it for yourself.

The Soundtrack

Honestly, pretty much exactly what you would expect from a movie about Barbie, although the Ken musical number was a surprise. A huge mix of artists contributed to the soundtrack, and each song is an absolute banger. I have to say I was a little disappointed that Hits Different by Taylor Swift didn’t make an appearance, if only because there’s a lyric about Kens, but I actually have zero real complaints about the soundtrack.

Overall Rating

You know I gotta do it. It’s a 10/10. This film is every single thing I hoped it would be, and so much more. Greta Gerwig came through again, giving us a film with strong female characters talking about the experience of girlhood and womanhood in the most unflinchingly real way possible.

I don’t know if I would want a sequel to this film, although it would be nice to know how Barbie gets on in the real world. But I think the film was absolutely perfect the way it was and I genuinely can’t wait to see what Greta Gerwig does next.

Final Thoughts

I’m not even going to try and compare the two films because they’re so different there literally wouldn’t be any point. BUT, they were both excellent films. Seeing them both on the same day was fun, and it was great to dress up in pink (for both films) and take part in the trend. However, it literally took up my entire day so I wouldn’t recommend both on the same day unless you know you have the time.

It was interesting watching the release of these films become such a cultural phenomenon without any other reason than the fact that two such diametrically opposed films were set to release on the same day. Also, and I don’t know if it was on purpose or not, but it was excellent marketing strategy from the Oppenheimer team. Everyone was getting so hyped about Barbie (rightfully so) and the fact that everyone decided to see Oppenheimer on the same day basically did all their marketing for them. I didn’t see a single trailer, plot point or even still from Oppenheimer. But you know what I did see? Everyone talking about going to see it, because they were seeing Barbie, and it would be funny to see both on the same day.

P.S. With actors and writers on strike right now - listen to what they say, they’re right to be striking. And don’t cross the picket line. You can get more info about the strikes here.

P.P.S. Barbie is a lesbian. Sorry, I don’t make the rules🤷🏼‍♀️💅🏻