Christopher Nolan is one of the only filmmakers whose every project is a cinematic event. If filmmakers are the modern equivalents of the ancient poets, then who better to bring the definitive version of The Odyssey to the big screen (preferably in 70MM IMAX)? That may sound like hyperbole, but Nolan has exceeded the highest expectations so many times that greatness should be expected, and Nolan has delivered once again.
The story of The Odyssey is basically common knowledge, but I’ll still keep this as spoiler free as possible. It’s the classic tale of Odysseus (Matt Damon) returning home from the Trojan War and all the obstacles that keep him from doing so. The film hits all the highlights you’d expect (the cyclops), and includes some of the lesser known moments (the Laestrygonians). The Trojan War obviously looms over the entire film, as well. In other words, this film is as big as it gets; in story, in budget, in scope, in camera (the entire film was shot with IMAX cameras), etc. Nolan condenses it down to just under three hours, though it seems to fly by despite the film’s subject being a seemingly never-ending journey.
The Odyssey has almost everything except the gods…kind of. Nolan went with something between featuring the gods as active participants and eschewing them entirely (as done in Troy). While Odysseus sees Athena (Zendaya) in visions throughout the film, no actual god makes an appearance. Despite that, The Odyssey still features plenty of supernatural elements. It’s a nice balance that allows for extraordinary sequences without getting too silly (there’s no bag of wind here to blow them off course).
The realistic presentation of the supernatural elements is vital because this is a dark, R-rated adaptation. Rather than tell the simple story of a war hero trying to get home, Nolan presents each obstacle as a manifestation of guilt keeping Odysseus from his home. This is no triumphant return, and his home, now crawling with evil suitors (led by Robert Pattinson at his sleaziest), doesn’t seem like the home he left anyway. Death and misery follow Odysseus, and it affects his entire family and kingdom, even without him there.
That darkness makes The Odyssey a surprisingly emotional film. Nolan has been (wrongfully, in my opinion) described as a cold filmmaker, more focused on spectacle than emotion. Even if that was the case (and it isn’t), The Odyssey would be the perfect subject matter for such inclinations. Instead, Matt Damon, in arguably his best performance, portrays Odysseus as a man wracked by guilt who is slowly broken down throughout the film. It’s certainly a physical performance, but Damon keeps it grounded, and he makes you care about this man, even with his faults.
Beyond Damon, this is the story of Telemachus (Tom Holland) and Penelope (Anne Hathaway), Odysseus’s son and wife. Their story with the suitors could have easily felt pedestrian in comparison to Odysseus’s supernatural exploits, but they provided the heart of the film, pushing familial loyalty to its limits. Holland and Hathaway are great, and there isn’t a weak spot in the cast. The standouts were John Leguizamo (who also has the funniest line), Ryan Hurst, Jon Bernthal, Samantha Morton, Himesh Patel, and…look, there are a lot of great actors in this and it’s silly to list them all when you can just check the IMDb page if you’re curious.
The performances and action are expectedly great, and Ludwig Göransson has cemented his place as my favorite working composer. Perhaps the most surprising and important element is the pacing of the film. Of course a film about The Odyssey is going to be long (but good for Nolan keeping under three hours), but it never feels long. Every moment feels necessary, even when a lot of it is just there to reinforce the themes of loyalty and loss. No scene or sequence goes on too long, and the moments that could feel ponderous (such as the long stay on Calypso’s island) are smartly broken up as framing devices to keep things moving.
The pacing provides an electric energy to the film. The buildup to certain sequences is so intense that even when I knew what was going to happen, I was left jittery by the end. The score, sound design, emotion, and action all come together in a special way that left me feeling excited in a way few movies ever have. Or maybe it was just because it was my first time watching a movie in 70 MM IMAX, but I think it was more Nolan than IMAX.
This is more than I could have ever hoped for from an adaptation of The Odyssey. It made me wish this movie had been around back when I was still teaching high school English (though I would have had to show it in carefully edited clips). It has the tone, scope, emotion, and pure entertainment worthy of a classic epic. Perhaps I’m only adding to the Christopher Nolan hype pile with this review, but The Odyssey is the kind of film that reminds me why I love movies so much in the first place.