by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: $14.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Mia Goth, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo
Intro:
Absolutely worth a watch on the biggest screen you can find, but not quite the genre-busting triumph you might have hoped for.
The Odyssey, the epic poem that historians reckon was composed orally around 750-700 BCE and written down later by the Ancient Green scribe Homer (not Simpson), is one of the most enduring works of narrative fiction composed by humankind. Not only has it remained in publication for thousands of years, but even in the modern age, artists of all stripes have decided to take a crack at it. There are dozens of movies, TV shows, cartoons and books that either adapt, ape or pay tribute to The Odyssey, including O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Troy (2004) and The Spongebob SquarePants Movie (2004). It’s been a while since Hollywood has attempted a big budget blockbuster version of the material, which comes to us now in the form of Christopher Nolan’s latest opus. So, does the Interstellar and Inception director manage to bring the heroic verse to life or are his limitations as a storyteller finally met? Honestly, a bit of both, so let’s have a natter about it.
The Odyssey is the epic tale of Odysseus (Matt Damon), the Greek king of Ithaca who has been separated from his family for decades because of the Trojan War and is slowly, falteringly making his way home. Meanwhile, his misso Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son, Telemachus (Tom Holland) are having all sorts of trouble in Ithaca thanks to the legion of suitors who are all lining up for Penelope’s hand, abusing Zeus’ rule where householders must treat all strangers and guests with deep respect. Unfortunately, massive plonkers like Antinous (Robert Pattinson) are absolutely taking the piss, causing havoc and waiting to claim power at the cost of Telemachus’ life. Can Odysseus make it home in time to save his family or will he get lost along the way, facing a narky cyclops, devious witches and the wrath of his own disheartened men?
Christopher Nolan is, without a doubt, a great director who has knocked out some bloody good films – Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige, Inception, Interstellar and The Dark Knight are all crackers. He’s also responsible for Tenet, so everyone has an off day (as a bonus, please enjoy some of the unhinged takes in the comment section). However, The Odyssey is a weird choice for Nolan, whose works, even when dealing with sci-fi or supernatural elements, have tended to skew much closer to reality. Pragmatic visions, if you will.
Impressively, Nolan stretches his talents in this flick, with genuinely well-realised fantasy moments. The cyclops sequence is terrifically effective and the section of the film with Circe (Samantha Morton) is remarkably tense and darkly surreal. Also, the frequently expanded upon scenes of the Trojan war are truly well-executed.
Performances range from excellent with Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Jon Bernthal, Charlize Theron and John Leguizamo all doing terrific work, to good with Matt Damon occupying the physicality of the role well but not always nailing the pathos, and Anne Hathaway mostly great except for one very clunky scene, to just okay with Zendaya’s Athena feeling a little phoned-in and Elliot Page’s Sinon only partially convincing.
There was much online sturm and drang because of some casting choices, particularly that of Lupita Nyong’o in the dual roles of Helen of Troy and her twin sister Clytemnestra, but honestly, both of those roles combined end up being about four minutes of screen time, so once again it’s much ado about bugger all. If The Odyssey was intended to be a gritty historically accurate flick, those criticisms might hold water, but this is epic fantasy. It was dumb when Alex Proyas got pinged over the casting choices in the much maligned (but underrated) Gods of Egypt (2016) and it’s dumb now that it’s happening to Nolan.
That said, there are fundamental flaws here. The script is solid enough, but definitely suffers from pacing issues, particularly in the second half. There are moments that could have easily ended up on the cutting room floor and the film would have been a much better experience for it.
The Odyssey is eye-poppingly gorgeous, particularly in IMAX, but it never really pulls you in emotionally, failing to make Odysseus’ story resonate on a primal, personal level. This is a yarn that has more than stood the test of time and yet doesn’t quite possess the emotional heft that one hopes for in a story like this. It’s a film that sometimes wants to be The Northman and sometimes wants to be Lord of the Rings and doesn’t consistently strike the right balance between the two.
Still and all, The Odyssey is a good film. Not a great film, but still good. Beautifully shot and scored, mostly well-acted and featuring genuinely iconic moments, it’s an ambitious fantasy epic from a director moving outside his traditional comfort zones. It’s also overlong, ponderous, repetitive and has a lead who doesn’t quite nail the spirit of the titular character. Absolutely worth a watch on the biggest screen you can find, but not quite the genre-busting triumph you might have hoped for.
And, honestly, SpongeBob might just have done it better.
