The Movie Review Edition

Over the past few months, I finally got around to watching the big movies of 2023, or at least some of them. Before we had kids, movies were a big part of our lives and it was much easier to keep up with the flow. We made a point to watch all the big blockbusters and most of the Oscar films. Things are different now obviously and we have to be a lot choosier with our rather limited free time. Plus, with the inflation and the costs of babysitters, a night out at the movie has become a full-on financial indulgence.

The movie is an incredible form of art. Combining the visual with both music and story, it has a unique power to really reach and move people. It might even be my favorite form of art, other than books, of course, which are on another level. 

These days, when I do get around to watching movies, I cannot help but think about things like:

“What is this movie trying to say? What’s the meaning here? “ 

“What can I learn from the story? The characters?”

“What lessons are evident in the arc of the main characters’ stories?”

…

My English teachers would be proud, that’s for sure! I’ve never been one for mindless entertainment and because I’m a writer, I always looking for ideas and stories to share.

Anyway, what I thought I’d do this week is discuss 3 big movies from 2023—Oppenheimer, Napoleon, and Barbie—and what I took away from each.

Let’s start with Oppenheimer. 

Christopher Nolan is by far my favorite director so I had high hopes going into this one. What he did with The Dark Knight Trilogy and films like Inception and Interstellar makes Nolan stand apart. By infusing deeply philosophical questions into blockbuster epic films, he challenged viewers in a very uncommon way. Whether you realized it in the moment or not, these movies are about big questions like—What is the true nature and origin of evil? Is it even possible to be good in our mad world? What if the only way to defeat evil involves engaging in evil yourself? What is time, what does it do to us, and why? Just what happens when we dream?

With Oppenheimer he explored similarly complex ground, examining the story of the development of the atomic bomb, its moral implications, and the profound impact it had on those involved. It’s a cinematic masterpiece and I won’t be surprised if it wins a bunch of Oscars in a few weeks.

As I was watching, I realized that Oppenheimer’s story is perfect for Nolan because it’s a continuation of themes he’s explored before in his Batman trilogy. Ultimately, it’s about the battle of good versus evil and it is a profound examination of the moral contours of the struggle. It asks just what is ok and what is not when you are trying to defeat a great evil. Oppenheimer and his colleagues in the Manhattan Project engaged in something that was simultaneously a tremendous scientific triumph and, perhaps, the greatest mistake ever. They absolutely knew the risks and proceeded anyway. Was it right? Is the world a better place because of nuclear power? It’s hard to say.

The most moving scene in the film for me was when Oppenheimer is standing at the gates of Los Alamos, looking helpless and regretful, just watching the two bombs that will be used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki get loaded onto the trucks.  Cillian Murphy did a masterful job portraying that feeling when you know you’ve been naïve about something but realize it’s too late. Of course, once something like a nuclear bomb exists, those in power would actually use it! 

Speaking of power, let’s talk about Napoleon for a second. I had massive hopes for this one as I love Ridley Scott as well. In fact, Gladiator is still my all-time favorite movie. But I think he missed here. Don’t get me wrong, the film was great in many respects—set and costume design, the acting, the cinematography…. It was beautifully conceived and shot, as expected, so much so that I walked away feeling like I knew what it was like to live in the days of the French Revolution. 

However, the main thrust of the film felt a bit one-sided and unrealistic. Instead of a sweeping epic, the movie presents as an elaborate attempt to humanize Napoleon.  This, in and itself, is not a bad idea. So often these world-historical figures—the Caesars, Alexanders, and Napoleons—appear larger than life and are portrayed that way but, ultimately, they are people just like you and me. It’s cool to imagine what they might have been like in real life. 

Napoleon was no saint, of course, and from what we know he did have some serious personality quirks. But by portraying him as this one-dimensional, emotionally and sexually inept and insecure man, the filmmakers ignored what also must have been true about Napoleon—i.e. that he was incredibly charismatic and talented in his own right. You don’t go from some unknown face in the crowd to world-conquering Emperor without some serious moxie. I have to imagine that there was a side to Napoleon that was amazing and magnetic as well. How else could have achieved what he did and commanded the loyalties of so many of his contemporaries?  

Finally, we have to talk about Barbie, arguably the most culturally significant movie to come out in years. Somehow, Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie managed to turn Barbie—arguably the quintessential manifestation of the patriarchy, a kids’ toy designed in such a way as to create an impossible body image standard—into a funny yet meaningful social critique and a massive commercial success at the same time. The film is essentially a satirical commentary on the ongoing battle between feminism and the conservative reactionaries of the patriarchy. What’s great about the movie is that neither side is spared and the extreme positions of both sides are examined, questioned, and pilloried. 

The genius of the movie is that you think the whole time that it’s just a massive critique of the patriarchy and setting up for an ending with a huge feminist triumph. But in the end, you realize that it’s a story as much about Ken as it is Barbie. Greta surprises us all by making us see how both the patriarchy itself and the feminist reaction to it have been unfair to men too—the impossible standards around financial success and the masculine physique, the denial of the validity of emotional life…—and instead of a feminist triumph you get a vision for a more balanced future, one that gives the space for women and men alike to pursue lives of meaning outside of the narrow contours of old, clearly outdated standards.  

Barbie is a great movie not just because it defied all expectations but also because it offered us all some much needed perspective at this critical moment in American history. It’s not either-or or one side at the expense of another but rather balance, compromise and nuance that we should be pursuing and celebrating. 

In a crazy twist of fate, the Academy, has proven, perhaps on accident, that the patriarchy is alive and well, giving Ryan Gosling an Oscar nomination for his role as Ken and leaving both Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie out. Oops! Talk about a huge mistake. Margot was born to play Barbie and absolutely nailed the role and Greta produced a cultural masterpiece.

Ps. 

Apparently fraud is a pervasive problem in our culture that extends far beyond the worlds of business and investing

A great story about why many have/are abandoning crypto

Another warning about the power of addictive technologies

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