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Christopher Nolan seemingly included a horrifying detail in Florence Pugh’s Oppenheimer scenes. The actor plays Jean Tatlock in the movie, who was J. Robert Oppenheimer’s (Cillian Murphy) partner before his marriage to Kitty Oppenheimer (Emily Blunt).
As we learn in the film, Oppenheimer and Tatlock remained in contact in the years following his marriage, and was a particular point of interest to the FBI investigating the physicist’s apparent links to the Communist Party. Shortly after one of their meetings, audiences learn that Tatlock died by suicide.
However, some viewers think that Nolan inserted a disturbing detail into this part of the story. This is because during some of the shots shown of Tatlock drowning, a black glove can be seen pushing her head down. The addition has led to speculation that her death may not have been the suicide it was ruled to be.
"When Oppenheimer is freaking out about what happened to her, you can see a hand with a black glove forcing her head under the water," one Twitter user speculated. "Showing he at least considered that a possibility. This is also McCarthy era America, very possible she was killed and they made it look like suicide."
Another fan wrote, "One thing in Oppenheimer I haven't been able to get out of my head is that brief insert of black gloves in that one flashback with Florence Pugh. Nolan was really in his horror mode." A third concurred, writing: "I cannot get the shot of the black glove out of my head, especially after noticing that the FBI guy who's going through Oppenheimer's trash is also wearing black gloves!!!!"
One thing in Oppenheimer I haven't been able to get out of my head is that brief insert of black gloves in that one flashback with Florence Pugh. Nolan was really in his horror mode. pic.twitter.com/RvkWoe5CI0July 24, 2023
Others had some other theories about what the black glove might mean, especially as we see it in color, implying it’s through Oppenheimer’s perspective. "It's so obvious that the black glove seen in Jean Tatlock's drowning was a manifestation of Oppenheimer's guilt," another theorized. "It coincided with Oppenheimer detailing his past relationship with her. It was simply Christopher Nolan's storytelling genius on display."
Meanwhile, some other viewers think they might have also seen a black glove later in the movie as well. "I thought I saw a black glove on Oppenheimer’s hand in the scene where he is giving a speech to the applauding audience too, but it was so quick and could have just been lighting," shared one on Twitter. This could give some weight to the theory that the glove is a manifestation of Oppenheimer’s guilt as this is one of the moments we see him reckoning with the consequences of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Someone needs to get Nolan’s insight stat. Although we can’t imagine the director giving us a straight answer after his ongoing cryptic responses to the Inception ending.
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