X
- 1989
- PG-13
- Paramount Pictures
- 2 h 7 m
- 1989
- PG-13
- Paramount Pictures
- 2 h 7 m
Summary This film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret wartime project in New Mexico where the first atomic bombs were designed and built.
Directed By: Roland Joffé
Written By: Bruce Robinson, Roland Joffé
- 1989
- PG-13
- Paramount Pictures
- 2 h 7 m
- 1989
- PG-13
- Paramount Pictures
- 2 h 7 m
Fat Man and Little Boy
50
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Where to Watch
Summary This film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret wartime project in New Mexico where the first atomic bombs were designed and built.
Directed By: Roland Joffé
Written By: Bruce Robinson, Roland Joffé
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or average
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
50
38% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
46% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
17% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or average
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
50
38% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
46% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
17% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
What Fat Man and Little Boy tells us is potent and essential. It tells us if history is dominated by individual action, then individual action has meaning -- in history everything is for keeps.
Whatever his film's contrivances as it builds, with this closing, Joffe has made a permanent contribution to our national insomnia. [20 Oct 1989, p.F1]
It's a handsome period piece and a decent character drama, and it has that Newman performance. But it never has enough bang for the buck, and that's too bad. [20 Oct 1989, p.G11]
Fat Man and Little Boy casts a wide net, but it never really traps its subject. The screenplay simply isn't up to the job. Only in the last half hour, as Trinity approaches, does dramatic fission occur. [30 Oct 1989, p.75]
Visually, Fat Man and Little Boy is almost obscenely beautiful. But while Joffe's eye is magnificent, his dramatic instincts are flaccid. [20 Oct 1989, p.79p]
Newman has no trouble bringing the tough-talking ‘can do’ general to life. The trouble is the scriptwriters have no interest in exploring the man behind the mission. This tends to tilt the dramatic balance toward Oppenheimer. The film falls short here, too, partially because of Schultz’ lackluster performance, but primarily because the script fails to give a clue to what made this man tick.
Fat Man and Little Boy is so confused, so stunningly ineffective, that General Groves's hawkish statements are more persuasive than the dove-ish apprehensions expressed by the scientists. Even the sight of a scientist dying horribly of radiation poisoning fails to be moving.
User Reviews
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Awards
Berlin International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
Political Film Society, USA
• 1 Nomination
