As Zeus Intended: ‘The Odyssey’
- Maddy Maguire
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
Many among us have nobly succumbed to the temptation of treating a film such as ‘The Odyssey’ (2026) as little more than an excuse to put on our Culturati Hats and get to nitpicking. Viking ships in ancient Greece? Agamemnon (Benny Safdie) dressed like Darth Vader’s Homeric cousin? The Yassification of Calypso (Charlize Theron)? Uh-oh! This is clearly Big Budget Hollywood gone mad. How could Christopher Nolan, director of highly realistic and staunchly source-accurate films such as ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008), do this? Is this guy trying to entertain people or something?
Unfortunately for some, ‘The Odyssey’ is great despite its supposed reality-destroying inaccuracies. Figures such as Polyphemus, Poseidon’s Cyclops son, are fantastically and believably brought to life, with a twisted sort of half-face that puts all other cinema Cyclopes to shame. (Of course, Nolan’s dedication to the use of practical effects is always worth praising – here, for example, a 60-foot puppet was used to create the man-eating monster). Equally impressive is the portrayal of Circe’s (Samantha Morton) witchcraftery, which, to keep things as spoiler-free as possible, results in one of the most delightfully macabre body horror sequences of recent times – again, a triumph of practical effects. The world shown on screen is immersive and consistent, masterfully blending the uncanny and the beautiful into a complex mythological vision – perhaps thanks in part to the decision to shoot almost entirely on location, on IMAX film and with IMAX cameras. And although it boasts a runtime of nearly three hours, the time flies rather than drags. Matt Damon’s Boston-accented Odysseus will enthral you, whether you like it or not.
Even so, the American accents are somewhat jarring at first. Particularly disturbing is Telemachus’s use of “Mom” and “Dad”, as delivered by Tom Holland, who, though terrific in the role, suffers from a severe case of Spider-Man Face. This conveniently brings us to our second unavoidable truth: Oh my God, everybody is so incredibly famous.
Travis Scott is the first person to appear on screen. Anne Hathaway delivers a standout performance, yet the script seems to shy away from using her character’s name, Penelope, until the final act begins. Meaning, particularly for those unfamiliar with Homer’s epic, it’s easy to think of her as “Odysseus’s wife, Anne Hathaway”, rather than “Odysseus’s wife, Penelope.” Charlize Theron has faced scrutiny online for looking botoxed to perfection – for some, her tweezed eyebrows and pouty lips ruin everything. Given that she’s cast as Calypso, a nymph so unrealistically attractive that she is able to entrap a man for seven years, this feels like quite a petty grievance. Consider, too, that nobody has anything to say about Matt Damon’s dazzlingly white teeth. If Crest Whitening Strips were available in this version of the Bronze Age, brow lifts hardly seem far-fetched.
This is far from Nolan’s first rodeo, anyway. He has already justified Scott’s casting, acknowledging the parallels between the oral poetic tradition from which ‘The Odyssey’ emerged and modern-day rap. Why should the same logic not extend to the contemporary-sounding accents and glamorous ensemble? Emily Wilson, whose translation of the poem Nolan has cited as his principal inspiration, recently wrote in her essay for the London Review of Books that she “would be ashamed to have written any part of this script.” Her criticism is far from baseless, particularly when it comes to the film’s subpar handling of its female characters, and her frustration at being (seemingly unwillingly) associated with the project is easy to understand. It would be inaccurate to suggest that the film truly reflects her translation of the text in any significant way. However, like the many academics who shake their heads at Joe Wright’s ‘Pride & Prejudice’ (2005) or Baz Luhrmann’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ (2013), a significant amount of Wilson’s resistance appears to be driven by a misunderstanding of what cinema is and what it should do.
A page-by-page adaptation, composed in Homeric Greek and so wonderful in theory, would appeal to exactly five people, and this contemporary insistence on “faithfulness” is, frankly, both tiresome and deeply rooted in elitism. The study of classical literature has long been associated with the privately educated. Knowledge of Ancient Greek was once a mandatory prerequisite for admission to Oxbridge, ensuring that only those who had attended the “right” schools could gain entry. Nolan understands his place in this tradition, and the result is a feature film that grossed £196m in its opening weekend. Not that commercial success implies artistic merit—quite the opposite. But even Wilson concluded her criticism of the film with an expression of gratitude towards Nolan for his efforts in getting the general public reading again. A reminder that Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ was, in fact, popular entertainment in its own day – an “oral blockbuster”, if you will – feels long overdue. Now, you can watch it on IMAX 70mm.
So, no; ‘The Odyssey’ is not a perfect film. It can certainly be an enjoyable one, if you allow it. Lupita Nyong’o, who portrays the twin sisters Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, faced significant backlash for her audacious display of ignorance during the film’s press tour – alas, she does not seem to have read the original material. At the same time, Nolan is a pretentious fool who presumes to know too much about a text he has allegedly bastardised for generations to come. Undoubtedly, the film will be widely recognised for its visual achievements when awards season comes. For the time being, however, its greatest service may be its role in dismantling the notion that classics belong solely to the academically initiated. Hurrah for popular consciousness! Bring on the Ancient Revival.
Edited by Lara Walsh, Editor-in-Chief
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