The Odyssey
- Ben Pivoz
- 2 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Christopher Nolan has gotten to a point in his career where it seems like he will only make epics. He is no longer interested in anything with a small scope. I suppose that makes him the perfect choice to adapt The Odyssey for contemporary audiences. His version is an epic on a massive scale, intended to be seen on the biggest screen possible. He wants people packing the theater; regardless of how nice your home setup is, it won’t compare to what he has in mind. My main issue with much of Nolan’s recent work is that it feels soulless. The human element is completely lost inside of his spectacle (Tenet is the most notable offender). That is definitely not the case here.
He taps into the personal pain at the center of this story, grounding the action, visual effects and fantasy in convincing emotion. Odysseus, Penelope, Telemachus, et al. feel like real people whose choices matter, even if they do believe they are controlled by the gods. There is no empty spectacle this time; the stakes are clear. This is a tremendous, fast-paced, dramatic, exciting, sneakily passionate take on the material, that is faithful, despite some modernizations. Nolan only cares to make ambitious projects these days. He’s starting to get really good at it.
Odysseus left Ithaca for the Trojan War twenty years ago. Some men returned, most worse for wear, but he has not. His son, Telemachus, must deal with suitors to his mother, Queen Penelope, who are looking for any excuse to kill him so they can take the throne. Meanwhile, Odysseus recalls his adventures as he attempts to finally come home.
The story of The Odyssey is a quest of heroism and loyalty, bound by fate. Nolan’s take on it emphasizes Odysseus’ devotion to the men he took into battle, as well as the guilt he feels for being away from his city, his wife and his son. Though the (mostly unseen) gods have a big role, it is man’s choices that incur either their wrath or their favor. In this instance, Odysseus believes he has decided his own fate, angering the gods with the way he chose to attack Troy. The heavy burden he carries for his soldiers and the void felt in Ithaca by his continued absence is the beating heart of this production.
One of the first things people will mention about this is its runtime: it is 165 minutes, not including the end credits. That sounds like a pretty big commitment, yet it feels half its length. Nolan structured this in a way that really helps the pacing. The two main arcs, belonging to Odysseus and Telemachus, are edited together very well, so that neither is ever offscreen for too long. Odysseus’ fantastical, and deadly, encounters intersect with his son’s concerns about leadership, family and safety. While his dad tries to survive monsters, Telemachus is dealing with human monsters infected with a lust for power. This all feels natural thanks to Nolan’s skill at making this centuries-old story both timeless and timely.
Beyond the remarkable filmmaking, there is also incredible craft in the performances. This has an impressive cast, including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, Lupita Nyong’o, Himesh Patel, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, Mia Goth and more. They each do great work, with the standouts being Damon, carrying the enormity of the emotional core as Odysseus, and Holland, bearing the sins of the father as brave-in-the-face-of-hopelessness Telemachus.
Every aspect of this iteration of The Odyssey is huge and everything works: the drama, the action, the terrifying creatures, etc. The scale never overwhelms the internal struggles on display. It is truly difficult to imagine a better version of this story put on film. Christopher Nolan may have made his masterpiece.
4¾ out of 5
Cast:
Matt Damon as Odysseus
Tom Holland as Telemachus
Anne Hathaway as Penelope
Robert Pattinson as Antinous
Directed/Screenplay by Christopher Nolan
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