Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
In 7th or 8th grade, my teacher read the story of The Odyssey to our class. I’d hate to say how long ago that was, but it’s been a minute. When thinking back on Homer’s story, I couldn’t remember the whole story. I remembered the exciting parts: the cyclops, the witch, the sirens, and the Trojan Horse. All I could remember about Odysseus was that he is the hero of the story. However, after watching Christopher Nolan’s movie adaptation, I understand that the “hero” title isn’t that simple.
Odysseus is a complex man. He’s strong and brave, is a skillful leader and he has a bone to pick to a bunch of suitors trying to win over his supposed widow. But unlike many superheroes of our day, Odysseus is flawed. He makes mistakes. At times he is overtaken by his own ego and makes some morally questionable choices. Sometimes it’s not his fault, other times it is. He’s not all good, but neither is he all bad. In short, he’s human.
The story of The Odyssey was composed by Greek poet Homer about 3,000 years ago. Originally, the story was passed down orally generation to generation. It was most likely written down on papyrus in the mid-6th century BCE. Consisting of 24 books, the story is told over 12,109 lines: about 500-600 lines per book with approximately 134, 560 words. It’s a long read.
Although Nolan’s film isn’t equally long, he does have a challenging time making a short movie. The Odyssey has a runtime of two hours and 52 minutes, making it the year’s longest blockbuster so far.
Told in a non-linear fashion, the movie begins at the rocky Greek isle of Ithaca ten years after the end of the Trojan War. The war itself was ten years long as well. The King of Ithaca, Odysseus (Matt Damon), has never made it home. Although presumed dead by many, his queen, Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) who was just an infant when he left, continue to hope for his return. A variety of suitors continue vying for Penelope’s hand in marriage. They even camp out at the palace, but they are getting restless. Against his mother’s wishes, Telemachus leaves in a search of a father that he has never met.
Boasting of being the first film to be shot entirely with IMAX Film Cameras, The Odyssey was an odyssey in itself. It was filmed in Morocco, Greece, Italy, Iceland, Scotland and even Hollywood over the course of 91 shooting days across six months. The sets are amazing.
Nolan is a master storyteller. From Batman Begins to Oppenheimer to The Odyssey, he finds a way to be true to the original stories while also bringing something new to them at the same time. The Odyssey is an action/adventure film, this is true, but it is also emotional theater. There is a feeling of dread from the first moment the movie begins. The dread doesn’t let up until just before the credits roll. It is as enjoyable as it is sobering.
It would be easy for an actor to play Odysseus in a larger-than-life way, but Damon’s approach is more humble. He’s a smart man in charge but also unsure. All he wants is to get back home to his family. The story flashes back to times of the Trojan War, a war Olysseus won for King Agamemnon of Mycenae (Benny Safdie) using such tactics as the famed Trojan Horse. In Nolan’s story, the weight of all he’s done and has been through seems to hit him hard before coming home.
The true heroes of the story (and yet still very human) are the long-suffering but not fragile Queen Penelope (who basically goes through all of Kübler-Ross’ seven stages of grief vacillating between mourning and anger) and Telemachus (who makes his own journey from simpleton to a man on his search for his father). Other heroes include Eumaeus (John Leguizamo), Olysseus’ faithful servant at home and Eurylochus (Himesh Patel), Odysseus’ second-in-command through the journey.
The movie is full of other colorful characters. Robert Pattinson plays Antinous, an arrogant suitor who has just about lost his patience waiting for Penelope to make up her mind. Zendaya plays the goddess Athena. Charlize Theron plays the immortal nymph, Calypso. Samantha Morton plays Circe; a frightening witch and Bill Irwin has the thankless job playing the one-eyed giant Cyclops. The movie also stars Lupita Nyong’o, Jon Bernthal and Elliot Page.
So, overall, expect to see Nolan at the next Academy Awards ready to take home a few Oscars. What should he do for an encore? How about a comedy?
Leave a Reply