Tell me the story of a complicated man. Now, tell me the story of Nolan’s Odysseus. Anyone who knows the tale of “The Odyssey” will immediately recognize the difference between Homer’s poetic telling of “The Odyssey” (in translation, of course) and Christopher Nolan’s cinematic telling of “The Odyssey.” Nolan’s version is more consistent with his past work (looking at you, “Oppenheimer,” 2023). His tale is one of regret and guilt, and Odysseus is drowning in it more than in the wine-dark sea.
“Our age of bronze is collapsing” is, unfortunately, a line in the film. The main weakness is the writing; it strives to be poetic, but ends up being too on the nose. It’s written as if it has no trust in the audience to make connections between anything. Seriously, you could make a drinking game out of how many times you hear “Zeus’ law” — it would make Dionysius himself, the god of wine, proud.
When Christopher Nolan casts a film, everyone shows up to work. Exiting the theater and thinking about the performances, it’s ironically the women’s performances, with exceptionally pared-down screen time, that shine out first. Anne Hathaway as Penelope shows herself more wily than Odysseus. Zendaya’s performance as the only god in the film lays bare Odysseus’ motives and actions. Lupita Nyong’o, as both Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, delivers a brief performance screaming in pain. Samantha Morton playing Circe is haunting in a scene that is stunning all the more because there is no CGI as the men turn into pigs — it is all done with practical effects.
The men also came to work. Matt Damon has one of his better performances. I was more entranced with Himesh Patel, who plays Odysseus’ right-hand man Eurylochus. And Robert Pattinson always takes an interesting role, here as the suitor Antinous. Elliot Page’s brief scenes were also powerfully delivered. Tom Holland as Telemachus was fine. There are many more interesting characters, but he plays the wide-eyed son well.
Despite having classicists up in arms over liberties the film takes with Homer’s story, the film makes clear it is centered on modern mythmaking, rather than antiquity. The changes Nolan makes to the story all serve Odysseus as a guilt-ridden man who doesn’t want to go home because he hasn’t earned it, rather than a clever, wily man who is desperate to go home to his wife. Nothing serves that more than the change of the story from one of man vs. nature to man vs. self. There are almost no gods in the film. They are mentioned, believed in, but, unlike in the poem, make very little appearance. As Zendaya said to Odysseus when he complained the gods’ motives are mysterious, “Who doesn’t understand thunder?”
The real question this film brings us is: who can “adapt” source material? Emerald Fennell was crucified for her version of “Wuthering Heights,” and the classicists’ teeth have come for Nolan for all the changes he made. In fairness to them, changing a character and major themes of a source material does seem in bad form. But the pure cinema of Nolan’s adaptation, and the fact that, even though it less resembles “The Odyssey” as we’ve read it in school, the story is exceptionally well told through film, make me soften toward it. It helps that as a piece of antiquity that tackles the very nature of storytelling, Homer’s “The Odyssey” changed through word of mouth before ever being written down, and in translation after translation it changes again. It’s different from a piece of literature from the 19th century (sorry, Emerald).
Christopher Nolan may only be capable of adapting the same theme as his other films, that of a guilt-ridden man dealing with the consequences of his actions, but there is no denying he does so in style. The score echoes throughout the film; Ludwig Göransson outdid himself with lyres. And forevermore, the twang of a bowstring will be associated with an act of mercy, a shot across the bow. The film is gorgeous, truly a pleasure to see on the big screen. The movie theater is so back, baby. Get your tickets and spend three hours drinking it in.
“The Odyssey” is playing now at the Peterborough Community Theatre until Aug. 6.