If Cillian Murphy\u2019s J. Robert Oppenheimer was the anti-hero of director Christopher Nolan\u2019s \u201cOppenheimer,\u201d Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves, portrayed by Matt Damon, is his equally controversial counterpart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tasked with staffing what would eventually become known as the Manhattan Project, Damon\u2019s character is the dutiful Army servant given the dubious honor of presiding over a team of brilliant scientists who in no way conform to the military\u2019s notions of hierarchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe frustration [for] Groves \u2014 what he lived with as a military person \u2014 he suddenly finds himself in charge of a bunch of civilians who don\u2019t really recognize the chain of command,\u201d Damon told Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a serious film about one of the most devastating weapons ever created, Damon manages to bring a bit of levity via the near-comical level of rigidity with which he portrays Groves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would have played anything that Chris asked me to,\u201d Damon said. \u201cBut Groves was really fun because I\u2019d never quite had a role like that. Nobody liked him, which was really fun. And he didn\u2019t care at all, he was just completely focused on what he was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Damon played off of Murphy\u2019s character particularly well \u2014 creating a relationship between Groves and Oppenheimer that, despite tension, facilitates both individuals\u2019 lofty aspirations to get ahead. Despite the arm\u2019s length distance between the duo, the pairing ultimately results in a friendship based on mutual respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey both appreciated each other \u2014 they helped each other fulfill each other\u2019s ambitions,\u201d Damon noted. \u201cEach couldn\u2019t have done it without the other. There was a lot of genuine affection there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite having vastly different backgrounds and personalities, both characters accomplish the unbelievable amid the constant push and pull between the military, which Groves represents, and the enterprising civilian so perfectly illustrated by Oppenheimer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c[It\u2019s] that tension between the military and the science community, just because the military is just completely obsessed with compartmentalization and secrecy,\u201d Damon noted. \u201cYou\u2019re talking about an existential threat to humankind, but the scientists are all about kind of keeping things open and learning from one another. They were philosophically totally opposed, and that led to this kind of natural tension between Groves and everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultimately, in the film\u2019s following of the development of the atomic bomb, Nolan, Damon noted, developed something more akin to a horror film or psychological thriller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was terrified when I when I got to the last line of the script, and then seeing it in the film,\u201d Damon said. \u201cI\u2019ve been kind of filled with dread.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Artful anxiety is something that Damon attributes often to the genius of Nolan, who both wrote and directed the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHis movies do this really incredible thing where he\u2019s always grappling with these big concepts, but they\u2019re also very intimate,\u201d Damon said. \u201cHe always wants to put interesting questions in front of his audience and let them ponder them, but at the same time, they\u2019re not lectures or thought exercises. They\u2019re very emotional movies and they\u2019re very intimate and and so he\u2019s always got these compelling characters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOppenheimer\u201d is in theaters July 21.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201c[It\u2019s] that tension between the military and the science community,” Damon said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":107180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-observation-post","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":68,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,68,12,26,13,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3271],"class_list":["post-74209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-military-culture","category-news","category-newsletters","category-off-duty","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"EVRJX7AI7BAURBOWFW3TBUM2FI","arc_canonical_url":"\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2023\/07\/21\/how-matt-damon-went-full-army-for-oppenheimer\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"observation-post","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n