When it comes to ‘spectacle’ in 21st century film, a few BNOCS (big names of campus, for the unversed) come to mind. Spielberg, Cameron, Villeneuve. Those directors who have climbed so far up in the film world with their craft that you just need a surname to recognise the figure. And high among those titans of talent sits Nolan. With Oppenheimer performing so strongly in conjunction with the ‘Barbenheimer’ gambit a few years ago, the world was, once again, at Nolan’s feet. After spending a decent few hours of 20th century historical angst seen through the eternally engaging expression of Cillian Murphy, Nolan chose to turn his sights backward. As in, centuries backward. Homer level backward.
With a Nolan sensibility printed all over the IP, of course. The director doesn’t follow the famous poem chapter by chapter, instead hopping back and forth between the trials and tribulations of main man Odysseus as he struggles to get home from war, chopping in bits and pieces from son Telemachus, a man grown and struggling to keep a hoard of suitors from his patient and loyal mother. While the flashback mechanic can grow weary in the hands of a lesser filmmaker, Nolan uses the past to give rich background to his tortured hero’s present. In technical terms, the Trojan war lies in the realm of The Iliad, another famed Greek text. But it makes sense to bring that material into the narrative to flesh out what Odysseus has at stake. The constant imagery of a burning Troy reminds us what our central character has lost, and what he could still lose if he does not make it home to protect his loved ones.
Nolan has described the film as universal, and how The Odyssey’s plot runs through most of our storytelling, modern and ancient. He also astutely described his interpretation of Odysseus’ journey home from war as a dissection of PTSD; the constant images of the past battle linger over Odysseus’ conscious without rest and ultimately provide us with a much more sympathetic and human hero to root for than in Homer’s original text. It’s been a while since I properly studied a translation back in Sixth Form, but the Homer I read was ridden with hubris and tricksy antics which are definitely mellowed in Nolan’s interpretation. Nonetheless, the director does a spectacular job of rendering the mighty tome on screen.
By choosing to frame the narrative around the realm of a particular godly figure, it allows narrative to flow easily and effectively. I was excited to see how each particular obstacle, human or god, was rendered on screen. While Nolan’s never been a fan of the old CGI trickery, it’s fair to say that Polythemus (the name of the cyclops, who Nolan doesn’t name in this film for some reason or other) couldn’t have been rendered any other way. And he’s rendered really effectively. Likewise, the sequence on Circe’s island is similarly mesmerising, and easily stands as one of my favourite moments of the film. Famous actors and actresses abound, but it’s not nearly as ‘in your face’ as the trailers might make you suspect. Most only have cameos, and make compelling impressions in their short time on screen.
My only particular pet peeve comes with the accents. While I respect Nolan’s resolve not to double down and try English RP for the characters, some, particularly John Bernthal’s Menelaus, just seem particularly clunky and out of place. For the most part, however, particularly when it comes to Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway, these voices are very effective. And as for spectacle, images of fire and fury are only enhanced by Nolan’s IMAX filming, with The Odyssey representing the first film entirely shot on the format. With quality like this, no Trojan horses are going to stop The Odyssey hitting fast and hard at the box office.
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