Worth All the Fuss: A Review of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey

 written and directed by Christopher Nolan

inspired by the poem by Homer

I honestly would not have had "controversial Christopher Nolan film" on my bingo card, as nearly every movie the British filmmaker has made since his breakout film Memento at the turn of the millennium has been received with near-universal anticipation and acclaim, with the possible exception of his third "Batman" movie. There has been so much noise surrounding his latest film, an adaptation of Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey"  that it was honestly hard to watch the film without being even just a little bit affected by it, but I gave it the old college try.

Well, I liked it.  I can't rate how well it adapts the source material, never having read Homer's poem, but I definitely appreciated it as a story.

The story, in a nutshell, is about the journey home of Odysseus (Matt Damon) from Troy, where he helped Agamemnon (Benny Safdie) wage a ten-year war against the Trojans, ostensibly for stealing his sister-in-law Helen (Lupita N'yongo) from his brother Menelaus (Jon Bernthal) but really in furtherance of his own ambitions. The war has scarred Odysseus, and even though his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway), his son Telemachus (Tom Holland) his loyal servant Eumaeus (John Leguizamo) have been waiting for him for twenty years, he still can't find his way home because of how deeply he has been affected. In fact, for several years he's been held prisoner by both his own personal trauma and the bewitching Calypso (Charlize Theron) who has kept him enthralled with lotus flowers, even as he struggles to remember the many terrifying adventures has had since leaving Troy which ultimately left him marooned with Calypso. Odysseus desperately need to hurry home, though, as a gaggle of suitors led by the slimy Antinous (Robert Pattinson) simply will not leave Penelope alone until he either returns or she chooses one of them.

For me, the film, which clocks in at three hours, took a while to get going, but once it did, it had me completely engrossed all the way to the end. There have been a number of critiques on the storytelling, and there are valid criticisms of this film, but for my money it was an effective piece of narrative, with remarkable attention to craft.  The film looks great, and Nolan's dedication to realizing the story's more fantastical scenes using practical effects rather than the ever-ubiquitous computer-generated imagery are much appreciated.  

For me, the film's real strength, though, comes from its actors. Particular standouts for me were Damon as Odysseus, Himesh Patel as his right hand Eurylochus, and John Leguizamo as Eumaeus, but there were strong performances all around...yes...even with the American accents.  I can admit the dialogue felt a little strange at times, but in most cases, the cast carried the story with utter conviction.  Samantha Morton as the creepy Circe was another particularly remarkable performance for me. 

Could the film have been better? Well, as I said, the first part dragged quite a bit and it could have been shorter, but as it was, I enjoyed watching this film and would certainly recommend it. 

9/10