By: Jamie Steinberg
The star-studded Christopher Nolan version of The Odyssey delivers. Anyone who is a fan of the iconic book will enjoy following our hero (played by Matt Damon) desperately seeking to return home to his beloved only to suffer delay after delay. Nolan’s iteration of each of these obstacles is impressive and viewers will happily stay put in their seats through this lengthy watch.
We follow our narrator (Travis Scott) as he covers the highlights of Odysseus’ (Damon) journey. We watch as Odysseus is heading to fight in the Trojan War only to get stuck for ten years with trouble after trouble. We even see the Trojan Horse (although a fabled event), yet Nolan put his own spin on this. With that in mind, we watch as Odysseus discovers his bestie Menelaus (Jon Bernthal) and various Greek warriors are packed inside, and the audience is told that while they have been in there for days several of them died before anyone discovered the horse. So, yes, there are some liberties taken with this tale, but at its heart the movie is still about the legendary story of Odysseus’ journey back to his beloved Penelope (Anne Hathaway) who is back in Ithaca patiently waiting for her hubby’s return all the while various suitors eat her food, drink her wine and attempt to force her into picking one of them to remarry. Also included in the story are Odysseus’ doting son Telemachus (Tom Holland), Athena played by Zendaya, Calypso played by Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong’o starring as Helen of Troy/Menelaus’ wife Helen.
In the end, the movie The Odyssey becomes more of a mix between The Iliad, The Aeneid and whatever Nolan decided to add as embellishments. However, what it may be that Nolan throws at viewers there is no doubt this is a damn good script! Also, the scale of the film is nothing to sneeze at as is the casting of various nationalities and ethnicities for leading parts. Nolan’s work with the imagery is incredible as well as the movie shifts from one time period to another. The viewer becomes so immersed in the war scenes that they even feel like they are a soldier along for the fight. Additionally, props to Damon for his incredible performance as our hero, but all eyes (no pun intended) will be on Samantha Morton who plays Circe in what are easily the scariest moments of the film.
For those looking to use Nolan’s work for The Odyssey as a Cliff Notes version of the book then this isn’t the film for you. If you are interested in an action-packed adventure film that explores the implications of one man’s decisions, grab your popcorn and enjoy this Greek poem turned modern day blockbuster.