Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan has revealed one of the most disturbing lines from the movie was an improvisation. In the scene where J. Robert Oppenheimer and other government officials are discussing where in Japan they will drop the atomic bomb, Henry Stimson (James Remar) crosses off Kyoto from the list.
He says this is because of its cultural significance, as well as the fact he and his wife honeymooned there. It turns out the latter part of this was improvised by Remar as it was something he’d drawn from his research into Stimson's life.
"There's a moment where James Remar kept talking to me about how he learned that Stimson and his wife had honeymooned in Kyoto," Nolan told The New York Times. "That was one of the reasons that Stimson took Kyoto off the list to be bombed. I had him crossing the city off the list because of its cultural significance, but I'm like, 'Just add that.' It's a fantastically exciting moment where no one in the room knows how to react."
Indeed, in my screenings of the film, the line drew horrified and uneasy laughter from the audience. The wilful disregard for human life in the choice between places to bomb was one of the most disturbing sections of Oppenheimer.
Some viewers recently noticed another harrowing moment in the movie too, featuring a black glove. During Florence Pugh’s final scene as Jean Tatlock, many spotted a black-gloved hand holding her head underwater. There are a lot of different interpretations of what this might mean, but the debate about its placement in the film is very interesting.
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