‘Oppenheimer’ fans point out “disturbing” detail in Florence Pugh scene

Some viewers have highlighted a “disturbing” and easily missed detail in a scene from Oppenheimer.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, the biopic follows the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) who was instrumental in the creation of the first nuclear weapons.

• READ MORE: ‘Oppenheimer’ review: Christopher Nolan’s mind-blowing biopic hits like a bomb to the brain

Early on in the film, we’re introduced to Florence Pugh’s character Jean Tatlock, who was Oppenheimer’s lover before and during his marriage to Kitty (Emily Blunt).

Tatlock’s connections to the communist party cause Oppenheimer to face intense scrutiny from US government officials, who are suspicious of his loyalty to the US as he oversees the creation of nuclear weapons under the secret Manhattan Project.

It’s later revealed that Tatlock died by suicide, with quick shots showing her drowning herself in the bath. However, during one of the shots, hands wearing black gloves can be seen pushing her head into the tub.

Fans have since speculated the shot is a potential suggestion from Nolan that Tatlock’s suicide was faked. The gloves, however, could also be interpreted as a haunting visual to represent Oppenheimer’s guilt as he learns about her death.

“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,” a viewer wrote. “Nolan was really in horror mode.”

Another added: “Still thinking about that almost-subliminal image of the black gloves with Jean in the bathroom in Oppenheimer. Probably the most disturbing image in the film and it flickers by in the blink of an eye, never to be brought up again.”

You can check out more reactions below.

the hazy appearance of the black gloves and even when Oppenheimer's duel with Roger Robb it reappeared very quickly, Nolan left me half-believing in Jean's death, raising the big question of whether this was a suicide or an assassination attempt.

— helena (@helenayourdear) July 25, 2023

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.

— Josh Lewis (@thejoshl) July 23, 2023

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!!!!

— Aesop's Foibles (@NotYetSurgeon) July 31, 2023

Still thinking about that almost-subliminal image of the black gloves with Jean in the bathroom in OPPENHEIMER. Probably the most disturbing image in the film and it flickers by in the blink of an eye, never to be brought up again

— Emperor Norton (@ashleynaftule) July 25, 2023

Recently, Benny Safdie revealed that Nolan had asked him not to pluck his eyebrows “for months” for the part of Edward Teller.

In a five-star review, NME wrote: “Not just the definitive account of the man behind the atom bomb, Oppenheimer is a monumental achievement in grown-up filmmaking. For years, Nolan has been perfecting the art of the serious blockbuster – crafting smart, finely-tuned multiplex epics that demand attention; that can’t be watched anywhere other than in a cinema, uninterrupted, without distractions. But this, somehow, feels bigger.”

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