Odyssey

By: Mariah Thomas

Combining genres in film seems to be the current craze. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. In the case of Odyssey, it definitely does. While you think you are in for a simple drama following the life of a real estate agent with drug habits as your main focus, you are pulled in so much deeper. The film pivots into a dark, bloody thriller. I wasn’t too sure where the film was going at times, but felt drawn in for the full ride. Odyssey, at its core, showcases how the wonderful talents of star Polly Maberly.

Director Gerard Johnson’s film Odyssey begins as a drama with a sharp turn into a dark thriller. The movie follows Natasha (Polly Maberly), a coke-fueled real estate agent. She is able to hide the decay of her life though luxurious lifestyles. However, her finances are quickly plummeting and she struggles to maintain that image of a life of luxury. Dealing with loan sharks, she finds herself in a place of owing a lot of dangerous people money. She is willing to do anything to clear those debts. In fact, she agrees to help hide a kidnapped real estate agent and move him out of the city in order to remove suspicion from the sharks. From this point on, she finds herself delving deeper into London’s seedy underworld. The deeper in this mess she gets, the higher the stakes become. As she powers through, things grow more chaotic and bloody. 

A stand out element to this film to me is star Polly Maberly. Following her journey as Natasha keeps a steady viewpoint as the tone of the movie shifts gears quite often. She is remarkable as we follow her down the rabbit hole into a world of high crime. There are two sides of Natasha as she has to continue to maintain her real estate business and image through this madness. Gerard Johnson and Maberly had previously worked together on the movie Muscle (2019) and that teamwork really shows in their ability to bring this story to life both behind and in front of the camera once more. 

Johnson does a wonderful job at building layers to this film – both in tone and the world created for Natasha to run around in. Another important element of this film seems to be lighting in various forms – bright sunlight from a window, harsh headlights as we meet the villains of the film, the neon of London’s nightlife and pure darkness. Lighting choices tell a story here too just as much as the dialogue and it is captured in a way that guides the story even further. 

Odyssey took a second to hook me in as there is a slower start, but once the film truly gets going you are in for a wild ride following Natasha’s journey as she goes through the motions as a real estate business woman with dark secrets. Then, to see the shift as she is tasked with having to fully submerge herself in a life of chaos and crime. Polly Maberly gives a stellar performance and this film is worthy of checking out. 

Covered at SXSW 2025