In “Dunkirk,” Murphy offers a harrowing depiction of PTSD as a traumatized solider; or “Oppenheimer,” in which he occupies nearly every frame as the star of the film.
However, for many fans, Murphy is the lynchpin in one of Nolan’s best, most ambitious and most emotional masterpieces, the byzantine thriller “Inception.”
He plays Robert Michael Fischer, the heir to a business empire whose unresolved father issues make him the target of a team of “extractors.”
Led by DiCaprio’s Dom Cobb, the thieves use dream technology to infiltrate the subconscious of a target to access information.
Fischer is a man of few words and Murphy is fantastic at quietly communicating his pain and making you care for a character that is, in many ways, intended to be a cipher.
Murphy delivers a sublime supporting performance that the entire movie rests on.
The moment where Fischer finds closure with his late father is perhaps the most affecting scenes that director Nolan has ever staged, due largely to Murphy’s beautiful performance.
