It was a fascinating story waiting to be told. FAT MAN AND LITTLE BOY takes us inside the trials and tribulations of a group of top American scientists handed a lofty task during the Second World War: beat everyone else to the atomic bomb. Sequestered in a heavily-guarded New Mexico compound, the brainiacs slowly turn the idea from ambitious concept into immense reality.

FAT MAN AND LITTLE BOY is one of those films that requires your close attention. It's a real thinking person's movie, not only from the scientific aspect of developing a seemingly impossible weapon, but also the moral implications of contributing to killing on a massive scale. Characters are constantly torn between that reality and their wartime duty as Americans. The film is never preachy about, however, leaving us free to marvel at the enormity of the inner turmoil these men face. The performances deserve special mention as well. Paul Newman delivers one of his great, understated performances as the Pattonesque general in charge of delivering the ultimate big stick for the Allied Forces.

Where FAT MAN AND LITTLE BOY loses much of its traction is in the unnecessary romantic component. Dwight Schultz as the leader of the scientific team struggles with his affections for his family and his relentless obsession with his big project. Director Roland Joffe apparently felt the need to explore the more human angles of this story, but the romantic overtones serve primarily as a distraction. Besides, it's the interaction among the scientists and their military hierarchy that give us the greatest insight into the thoughts and feelings of these brilliant men.

Still, it's difficult not to recommend FAT MAN AND LITTLE BOY. It's a largely forgotten gem that puts a human face put on one of the most intriguing stories in human history.

The movie is probably most successful when it pits the ideologies of warriors against scientists, those who believe the atomic bomb will end a destructive war by saving more lives than it kills, and those who oppose creating the vehicles of death for any reason. For those like General Leslie R. Groves (Paul Newman), the matter isn't even up to question. The scourge of Hitler's Nazis and Japan's Imperial ambition need to be stopped in their tracks as soon as possible to save American and Allied lives, indeed, even the citizens of those countries that make up the Axis.

Without researching the history of the Manhattan Project, I don't know how much of the story here is accurate; Hollywood has it's way of blending elements of fact and fiction to produce a compelling story. And virtually every war related film has to have it's romantic side story, provided here by the characters of Michael Merriman (John Cusack) and Kathleen Robinson (Laura Dern). I always question why that's necessary, although in this case, Cusack's character sort of stands in as the Everyman caught in the middle between obligatory duty and the pull of conscience. He's here to remind us that sometimes the innocent bystander becomes a victim of everything he holds dear.

Somehow, at least in my opinion, the movie didn't feel as epic as I thought it would be given the historical impact of the atomic bomb. The story didn't take it beyond the first test explosion in the New Mexico desert where we see it's devastating impact. The eye witness effect on Dr. Robert Oppenheimer (Dwight Schultz) appeared almost comic in it's portrayal and took some of the gravitas out of the situation for this viewer. One can only hope that with the passage of time, the message of man's ability to destroy the entire planet will provide the conviction for calmer minds to prevail in an increasingly dangerous world.

It's 1942 and 9 months after Pearl Harbor. Gen. Leslie Groves (Paul Newman) expected to move out from behind the desk to go to the frontlines. Instead, he is transferred to his perceived dead-end boondoggle. Oppenheimer (Dwight Schultz) advises him to gather the scientists in an isolate place for creative stress. Together they would lead the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Michael Merriman (John Cusack) is the young wide-eyed scientist. Kathleen Robinson (Laura Dern) is the nurse who falls for him. He befriends Capt. Schoenfield (John C. McGinley) who is the doctor investigating radiation. Seth Neddermeyer comes up with the idea for implosion. Oppenheimer is cheating on his wife Kitty (Bonnie Bedelia) with communist sympathizer Jean Tatlock (Natasha Richardson).

The movie achieves something a little more difficult. It made a bunch of scientists interesting and it made the science understandable. I do hope that the story is more fact than fiction. However I won't rest my review on its accuracies. Paul Newman delivers a forceful performance. I wish Dwight Schultz is a bigger actor to counter Newman's star power. The story is compelling although the puppy love story is a bit artificial.