Confused AF by ‘Oppenheimer’? PBS’ ‘The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer’ Will Help Explain Nolan’s New Film

Maybe I’m the only one brave enough to admit it, but unless you’re an expert in the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Christopher Nolan Oppenheimer movie is hella confusing. If you’re going into Nolan’s three-hour epic expecting a straightforward biopic about the man who invented the Atomic bomb, and then (kinda, sorta) regretted it, you’re in for a rude awakening. There are at least four different timelines—which, in typical Nolan fashion, are all out of order, with no clear way to distinguish between them—each depicting a different, complicated chapter of the physicist’s life.

In other words, Oppenheimer is the sort of movie that requires you to do a little homework first. Luckily, there are quite a few resources out there, beyond just a cursory read of the man’s Wikipedia page. That includes a 2009 movie-length episode of the PBS history series, American Experience, titled The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer. It’s a two-hour TV film, available for purchase on Apple TV, starring Oscar-winner David Strathairn as Oppenheimer, directed by documentary filmmaker David Grubin.

Because The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer is a re-enactment-style documentary, it’s focused entirely on helping understand the complicated story of Oppenheimer’s life, without artistic choice and non-linear timelines getting in the way. Grubin walks viewers through the international race to build the atomic bomb during World War II. In the U.S., the project was helmed by a physicist named Robert Oppenheimer, who worked with his team in secret at  Los Alamos, New Mexico.

But Oppenheimer’s story doesn’t end with the U.S. dropping his invention on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, wiping out tens of thousands of Japanese lives. Though he never outright said he regretted working on the bomb, he did vocally warn against the U.S. developing a hydrogen bomb and advised the U.S. to cooperate in an international agreement to put restrictions on the use of nuclear weapons. To top it all off, as the U.S. entered the Red Scare era, renewed suspicions of Oppenheimer’s ties to the Communist Party caught the attention of the FBI.

All of this led to an accusation, by a group of powerful Washington insiders, that Oppenheimer was working for the Soviet Union. This led to a hearing in which Oppenheimer attempted to restore his reputation, featuring a lot of men in suits testifying for and against the scientist. Like the prophet Avril Lavigne once said: It’s complicated.

The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer, aka Season 21 Episode 1 of American Experience, is available to buy digitally on Apple TV+ for $3.99. Trust me, it’s a small price to pay before you settle into the three-hour baffling experience that is Oppenheimer. Set yourself up for success!