I have fond memories of studying Homer’s classics of The Iliad and The Odyssey in High School.
The two epic poems are perhaps the oldest surviving stories in human history but there have not been many big budget attempts to adapt them to the screen.
There was the Troy movie many years ago but that was more focused on being an action blockbuster than actually getting into the message of the story.
However, when I heard that Christopher Nolan would be adapting The Odyssey, I had no doubt that one of the greatest directors of our time would be up to the task.
The film follows the Greek Hero Odysseus, played wonderfully by Matt Damon, on his ten-year journey home following the Trojan War.
During his travels he must face monsters, potential mutiny from his men, and the wrath of the Gods themselves.
But even if the hero reaches his home of Ithaca, his trials will be far from over.
In Odysseus’ absence, suitors have taken over his home, planning to marry his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and usurp his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland).
These suitors are led by Antinous, who is portrayed through a delightfully scummy performance from Robert Pattinson.
Every actor in this movie, from those with large roles to minor, give it their all, which is quite funny given all of the casting “controversy.”
In the lead up to the film’s release, it was difficult to escape people complaining about Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Elliot Page as Achilles.
The latter complaint is especially egregious because, guess what?
Elliot Page does not play Achilles so all of that complaining was for nothing.
Nyong’o and Page’s performances also only take up a few minutes of the film, at most, so it really goes to show just how disingenuous certain people were being.
Not to mention, the brief performances the actors gave were solid.
As I said, everyone in the cast does a great job, with my favorites being Matt Damon as Odysseus (of course), Himesh Patel as Eurylochus, and John Leguizamo as Eumaus in what might be the best performance of his career.
But enough about the performances, what about the rest of the film?
Well, the cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema and soundtrack by Ludwig Göransson are expectedly also fantastic.
Nolan shot the movie entirely on IMAX 70 mm (the first feature film to do so), and filmed on location across the globe, resulting in jaw dropping visuals.
There was also plenty of camera trickery, which added to the otherworldly nature of The Odyssey’s mythical monsters.
This was most apparent with the Cyclops Polyphemus (Bill Irwin), with the way he was filmed reminding me a lot of the original King Kong (1933).
Speaking of the Cyclops, his scene is nothing short of absolutely horrifying.
The same goes for Circe (Samantha Morton), where Nolan tries his hand at body horror, which resulted in me wincing into the back of my seat.
There’s the Laestrygonians, the trip to the Underworld, and many more unsettling moments.
Honestly, I would be very excited to hear it if Christopher Nolan’s next movie was a horror film.
I cannot imagine how scary such a movie would be.
Nolan wrote the script for The Odyssey, adding new twists to the age-old tale.
I particularly liked how the events of the Trojan War drove Odysseus’ actions in this movie, along with how it led to his interactions with Athena (Zendaya).
There is also one particular scene with Odysseus’ dog and, as someone who lost their own dog last year, this moment made me tear up.
Although, the writing is not completely perfect because, as you may have noticed from the trailer, all of the characters speak in a modern dialect.
This does create a few moments where I was brought out of the film because of how modern everything sounded.
Also some of the creatures Odysseus faces go by pretty quickly, which makes sense given how packed the film is, but it felt like they should have either been given more room to breath or cut entirely.
Otherwise, Christopher Nolan definitely lived up to expectations in adapting The Odyssey.
The performances are excellent, as are the techniques used to craft the film, and Nolan’s writing adds plenty of thematic weight to an already rich tale.
I expect The Odyssey to be nominated for a lot of awards by the year’s end and, should it win these, it will be very well deserved.
Do not listen to the biased detractors and go see this movie.
Just make sure not to drink too much water beforehand, otherwise you may be in need of a toilet break halfway through, because this a long one.
THE REVIEW MONSTER 