Let me preface by saying… I know The Odyssey was required reading in freshman year of high school. And.. I know I did not read it. Definitely didn’t understand a damn thing. As with pretty much all classic lit, my brain doesn’t comprehend. The only way I’ve been able to really appreciate Shakespeare is through the late 90s, early 2000s rom-com adaptations. He’s brilliant, that guy. Big fan turns out.
I knew this wasn’t gonna be a modern-day rom-com, but I figured I would actually understand it in movie format. I’m still figuring out if I actually care for Christopher Nolan…
Going in, I had the same complaints that plenty of others had. One was that the movie was in present-day American accents… I love a modern adaptation, but I want the whole thing to be modernized. I don’t enjoy when it’s mismatched. Took me out of the experience a bit. I was also annoyed with how much backlash there was about Lupita Nyong’o. Considering how absolutely stunning she is, and how little she actually was in the movie.
The plot itself reminded me so much of Oppenheimer… In the sense that it is essentially a story of a man who knowingly went through with actions that had great consequences… And only after had tremendous guilt and remorse.
The only thing that I could think about was how long Odysseus sat inside that Trojan Horse. There was the planning, the building of the horse, the sitting in the horse, and just like Oppenheimer and his atomic bomb, it was only when the plan was set into motion that the reality of the situation hit. Yet again, a story of how men in power ultimately make destructive decisions. And yet the tone of these movies is that we should have empathy for these men and offer them grace. In the words of my girl Jojo, too little too late, Odysseus.
On top of that, after the doomed journey… He goes into a state of what I can only conjure up as denial and PTSD, mixed with Cyclops magic… For seven years! SEVEN. And of course a woman is put in the story as part of the reason he didn’t come to his senses sooner. Honestly, I feel like a raging feminist right about now. But I found a lot of this story rather frustrating.
Penelope is an interesting character. I appreciate that she seems to have been written as a clever, strong woman. Anne Hathaway did a great job in this role. I don’t know if there was more of her in the book. This would have been a character worth expanding on in the movie. As much as I loved Anne for this role, I felt there was no chemistry between her and Matt Damon. I love Matt Damon. This pains me to say, he wasn’t right for Odysseus. In terms of a heroic, good man, I agree Damon is a solid frontrunner. For this story… Even in present American English, he just felt wrong.
Robert Pattinson had one of my favorite performances. I wish he didn’t have that American accent, same with Tom Holland. Yet, Pattinson as a villain is truly fantastic. I was a Twilight book fan, and was so underwhelmed by the movies. I didn’t understand him… But I get it now. He has really grown on me over the years.
Oh, and I would love to see an adaptation of Circe. Actually, I would like to read the book first. I loved that storyline and performance by Samantha Morton. I wanted so much more of it.
Yes, it was a stacked cast. And if we’re being honest, I’m growing tired of it. Seeing the same faces when there are so many roles is a bit lame. Even one breakthrough performance would have been great. Sometimes it feels like Nolan acts like he was the nerd in high school who’s finally in with the cool kids. I don’t know this man… So I apologize for sounding so rude.
Along with the accents… The script was not great. This wasn’t a Romeo + Juliet take, where the script was the direct text from the book. It was adapted by Nolan himself. I wish he brought in a writer. The Field of Dreams-esque, “You’re Odysseus. You’re my father.” moment really killed it for me. Even more so, I heard Nolan wanted to take this story on after he got a dog and resonated with the loyalty of Argos. I was so underwhelmed with good boy Argos’s story. It should have been much more poignant.
Similar to Oppenheimer, the cinematography was absolutely stunning. The grandeur of such a hero’s journey was definitely translated visually. I watched the regular movie theater experience, not IMAX or 70mm or IMAX 70mm. And even then, it was stunning. Hats off to Hoyte van Hoytema and team.
Over the movie’s three-hour length, I was certainly not bored. I actually wish it were done as a two-part series or even a mini-series. The story could have been fleshed out more, especially the characters. There are so many characters, and it just felt like none of them had enough time, even Odysseus. I can’t be a real judge of this since I don’t know the text.
The jury is still out on Nolan. I am curious to see what a movie that takes a break from the remorseful white man for a bit or for good would look like. Most of his movies are engaging, and I do think he is a good director. However, I am skeptical of his writing skills and the real underlying themes of his movies. Overall, I enjoyed this movie. I thought it was entertaining, and the essence and vision were there. Great potential, just not fully developed.
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
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