Oppenheimeris finally here, and it has been welcomed with rave reviews andbox-office success. The three-hour historical biopic has lived up to the hype, and many have called it Christopher Nolan’s best film so far. With such a captivating story executed perfectly, beautiful visuals, and great sound, it is hard to disagree that it is Nolan’s best work. Probably the biggest factor in Oppenheimer’s success is the outstanding performance from Cillian Murphy, who is getting tipped for Oscar success.
However, while Murphy’s performance is certainly the standout, he wasn’t the only actor who shone in the film. We saw somemega movie stars work with Nolanagain, such as the likes of Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, and many more. But it was Robert Downey Jr. that came closest to matching Murphy’s captivating performance.
Downey played Lewis Strauss and had a key role in how events unfolded throughout the film. The story was told through Strauss and Oppenheimer and through different timelines. While the film is about the titular character, Strauss' involvement is one of importance. So, who was Lewis Strauss?
Early Life and Career
Born in 1896, Lewis Strauss was the son of Jewish immigrants from Austria and Germany who came to the United States in the 1830s and 40s. His father, also named Lewis Strauss, was a successful shoe wholesaler. In his youth, Strauss experienced some difficulties, such as losing the majority of his vision in his right eye, which led him to be disqualified from normal military service later in life.
He also suffered from typhoid fever in his senior year of high school, which prevented him from taking his final exams, and didn’t graduate with his classmates. Up to that point, Strauss had developed an interest in physics and was in pursuit of a scholarship that would allow him to study it.
Unfortunately for Strauss, by the time he finally graduated, his family’s business was going through a tough time due to a recession. So, he decided to help out by being a traveling salesman, something he was quite good at. He earned and saved enough money that would pay for his college tuition, but his future didn’t involve selling shoes or college.
As World War I was still having a destructive effect across Europe, Strauss volunteered to be Herbert Hoovers’s assistant, the head of the Committee for Relief in Belgium. Later Strauss was promoted to Hoover’s private secretary. His success in this role was vital to the political influence he would go on to have.
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Strauss was already well known by thetime of World War IIdue to his involvement in politics and public service. During the 1920s and 30s, as a member of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Strauss was very active in helping Jewish refugees who often faced unfair treatment.
He tried to change policy to make the U.S. more accepting towards the Jewish refugees that came from Nazi Germany. During this time, Strauss became known to Felix M. Warburg, a partner in the investment bank Kuhn, Loeb & Co. in New York. Warburg brought Strauss to the firm and became a full partner. He worked there up until 1941 and, during this time, became very wealthy.
Not only was Strauss a businessman and philanthropist, he was also a naval officer. Despite being disqualified from normal military duty, he applied to join the Naval Reserve in 1925. As World War II began, he volunteered for active duty and was called up. This was when he was assigned to the Bureau of Ordnance, where he managed Navy munitions work and served on the Army-Navy Munitions Board and the Naval Reserve Policy Board.
His work was recognized, and after the war, President Truman promoted him to Rear Admiral. Shortly after, in 1947, Strauss was appointed by President Truman as one of the first five commissioners of the Atomic Energy Committee. He would later go on to become chairman of it.
Strauss and Oppenheimer
InOppenheimer, we see Strauss in his role within the AEC in black and white, while Oppenheimer’s point of view is in color. A subtle difference in how both viewed the world and events ofthe different timelinesexplored in the film.
While Strauss is certainly portrayed as a villain in the movie, he may very well have thought of himself as the hero in his own story. Besides funding some physics research in the late 1930s, Strauss had no direct involvement in thecreation of the atomic bombduring World War II. Still, he was a strong advocate for it and wanted to make sure U.S. atomic secrets were protected. While Strauss did promote the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, he was open to doing whatever he felt was necessary to keep the U.S. safe.
Much like Strauss, after the creation of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer wanted to keep the U.S. and the world safe, but while the two shared similar goals, they had completely different ideological views. Strauss was a conservative Republican, and Oppenheimer a liberal with some communist ties. Oppenheimer was conflicted with his creation, while Strauss would do whatever he felt needed to be done to ensure safety in this atomic era. Strauss supported the development of the hydrogen bomb; Oppenheimer was strongly against the idea.
In 1947 Strauss appointed Oppenheimer as director of the Institute for Advanced Study. Just a few years later, their relationship began to unravel. Oppenheimer mocked Strauss' opposition to exporting radioisotopes for medical purposes at a U.S. Senate hearing. This humiliated Strauss and led to his grudge against Oppenheimer.
Their relationship worsened during the McCarthy era, and Strauss brought forward serious allegations against Oppenheimer regarding his patriotism and left-leaning politics. Strauss even managed to get the FBI to spy on Oppenheimer. Because of his political position and opposition to the hydrogen bomb, Strauss sowed doubt about whether Oppenheimer could be trusted or not or if he was a communist.
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While Strauss was the man behind this character assassination of Oppenheimer, he stayed in the shadows, as we saw in the film, whichgot many details right. In 1953, he informed Oppenheimer that his security clearance had been stripped. Oppenheimer appealed this decision, resulting in month-long hearings between April and May 1954. In the end, Strauss got what he wanted, and Oppenheimer was stripped of his security clearance.
However, many knew that it was Strauss that was behind the destruction of Oppenheimer’s career. And this came back to bite him just five years later. Strauss was nominated by President Eisenhower to become U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and Strauss' bias against Oppenheimer was brought out into the open.
In the film, we seeRami Malek’s David Hill speak outagainst Strauss (along with others that the film doesn’t show) for his treatment of Oppenheimer. The Oppenheimer controversy painted Strauss as a villain, resulting in the Senate rejecting his nomination—a rare moment in U.S. history where a cabinet appointee failed to be confirmed.
While Oppenheimer ensured he had a lasting legacy through his work, so did Strauss, as he will always be an interesting and highly debated character in history.
