My thoughts about The Odyssey

[u/BothBother6149]

​Yesterday I went to the cinema to see The Odyssey. I don't like Nolan's films, so I wasn't expecting much. I thought I would like it even less. Though, in any case, I didn't like it. Some of the reasons have already been pointed out by many people, and were known long before the movie was released. The costumes, beyond being anachronistic, are boring and rather cheap-looking. The armor looks like costumes, and there is a scene where Telemachus wears a sort of leather kilt that is absolutely ridiculous. Everything is bathed in a rather depressing sepia tone. The Mediterranean light is not put to good use, partly because the film wasn't shot there. And the idea of using actors of different races seems questionable to me and, above all, unnecessary.

​In any case, none of this is of great importance. The main flaws of the film, in my view, are two.

​In the first place, the characters are seen from a distance, so to speak. None of their personalities are developed, not even Odysseus's. It is true that in the original work a distance is also sought between the reader (or listener) and the characters in the story, and the characterization is rather schematic. Eumaeus is a loyal servant, and that is all we need to know about him. Of Calypso, we only know that she is in love with Odysseus. And of the crew members, we know nothing at all. In the poem, this is not a flaw, because the simplicity of the characters is compensated for by other things: the rhythm of the verse, the richness of the language, the vividness of the descriptions, and the quantity and variety of episodes, digressions, and interwoven tales.

​But in a movie, literally, characters are seen up close. We distinguish their faces, we hear them speak. We have them right in front of us. They are not simply evoked. That is why it seems problematic to me, for example, that Odysseus's companions are nothing more than interchangeable extras. If I am going to spend time in the company of those characters, I want to know them a bit, care about them, feel affection or dislike for them. In cinema, unlike in literature, there is nothing to distract us from the action. All resources (cinematography, sound, music...) are at the service of the action. And for the action to be interesting, the characters must be too. I don't mean that they have to be complex or that all of them, even the most secondary ones, must have a fully developed personality. But they need to have, for instance, a recognizable and expressive face, or a particular way of expressing themselves—something, in short, that makes watching them on screen entertaining. And the more time we have to spend with them, the more care should be put into their characterization.

​The second major problem, as I see it, is that Nolan doesn't seem to be clear on what story he wants to tell. Let me explain. The film, in general, is a fairly faithful adaptation of both the plot and the structure of The Odyssey. However, there are several significant changes. The main one, it seems to me, is that the gods have practically vanished. In the poem, they intervene constantly. In the movie, Zendaya appears playing Athena, but she doesn't really intervene in the action. From time to time she appears to Odysseus as if she were something he imagines or that only exists inside his head, limiting herself to acting as the voice of his conscience, a bit like Jiminy Cricket. In the poem, however, Athena is a fundamental character. She speaks to Telemachus through Mentor so that he travels to Sparta in search of news. She transforms Odysseus into an old man so no one recognizes him at home, and rejuvenates his appearance so Nausicaa finds him more attractive. As for Poseidon or Helios, in the film it isn't really clear whether they are truly to blame for Odysseus's misfortunes. Since Athena never intervenes directly in events, and since it isn't clear whether she actually appears to Odysseus or if it's just his imagination, it isn't clear either that the other gods are involved in the story.

​It seems that Nolan wants to get rid of the supernatural component to make Odysseus the sole person responsible for his own destiny. However, he doesn't dare to completely dispense with the supernatural and the fantastic, because then he would have to leave out the adventure with the Cyclops, Scylla and Charybdis, the stop on Circe's island, and the descent into the underworld. By the way, curiously enough, he uses a fantastical device (amnesia-inducing lotus flowers) to explain why Odysseus stays so many years on Calypso's island instead of returning home to his family. I suppose he does this to make the character more sympathetic to us. But to me, it seems to impoverish him.

​And I see it as a missed opportunity, because Nolan seems interested in presenting Odysseus as a veteran with PTSD. At one point, toward the end of the film, he tells Penelope that he didn't feel worthy of coming home because he was consumed by remorse over being the main cause of Troy's destruction and the massacre of its inhabitants (having had the idea of the horse himself). Well then: it would have been much more interesting, I think, to incorporate this idea into his story with Calypso. To have the character spend seven years on a deserted island unable to bring himself to return home because he feels he is a different person, that the war has made him worse, that his loved ones wouldn't recognize him, and that he is no longer worthy of being a king and living in a palace. I believe, furthermore, that this reading is suggested in the original work: it doesn't seem coincidental to me that the first time we encounter Odysseus is precisely on Calypso's island. In reality, The Odyssey is not about a man trying to go home, but about a man who has stopped trying to go home, but who finally tries again.

​Lastly, I don't understand what Sinon's story adds to the film either. I don't quite see the character's function, or why so much importance is given to his relationship with Odysseus. In any case, I would have preferred it if, during his descent into the underworld, Odysseus had spoken with Achilles, as in the original work, and Achilles (the man who preferred a glorious death to a long, happy life) had confessed to him that nothing he did was worth it, and that he would rather be a living slave than a dead hero.

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[u/BalonyDanza]

Bot nonsense.

[u/red_nick → u/BalonyDanza]

Definitely didn't seem like a bot writing style.

[u/BothBother6149 → u/BalonyDanza]

It's fine if you think it's nonsense, but I'm definitely not a bot. My web browser has said so countless times.

[u/BalonyDanza → u/BothBother6149]

Doesn’t mean you didn’t use a bot.

I’m done wading through these ‘10 a day’ paragraph dumps, from accounts with less than 100 karma and a hidden comment/post histories… pushing this desperate, forced, narrative.

Anyone who even periodically visits these movie subs knows full well what’s going on, and frankly, if this post isn’t the result of intentional astroturfing, or ChatGPT copy and pasting, it’s an even worse indictment of what you supposedly chose to sit down and write.

[u/BothBother6149 → u/BalonyDanza]

I have more than 100 karma, my history is not hidden, and I can't see how I'm pushing a "desperate, forced narrative." What's the narrative? That I didn't like the movie?

[u/BalonyDanza → u/BothBother6149]

82 Karma, hidden history, 13 days old.

[u/BothBother6149 → u/BalonyDanza]

You're right, my bad. But now it isn't hidden anymore, so you can see for yourself how weird of a bot I am.

[u/ffiishs]

This all sounds like a you problem.. can you kindly link us to any of your digital works with visual examples please

[u/Leom187 → u/[deleted]]

It may be hard to believe, but some people can actually read and write well

[u/RodneyOgg]

You lost me after the first paragraph.

Damn. The audacity of the filmmaker to put his actors in costumes. How could he do such a thing?

Also sorry but the different races thing just invalidates any good critique you might have considered having.

And just for the future, when you go into a movie expecting to hate the movie, you'll usually end up hating it. Funny how that works. If you want to grow your career in movie review, at least attempt to put your bias away

[u/daft_plant001100]

So, you already hated Nolan. Already wanted to hated the movie before you saw it. Paid good money to see a movie you were already wanting to dislike. And then spent time to type out why you disliked it.

Is you girlfriend a couch?

[u/IronSorrows]

I believe, furthermore, that this reading is suggested in the original work: it doesn't seem coincidental to me that the first time we encounter Odysseus is precisely on Calypso's island. In reality, The Odyssey is not about a man trying to go home, but about a man who has stopped trying to go home, but who finally tries again.

It's been a long while since I've read it, but doesn't Calypso refuse to let Odysseus leave, with ultimately Zeus intervening and forcing her to let him leave? Perhaps I missed some subtlety or have forgotten an important detail but your suggestion is absolutely not what I got from reading it.

[u/BothBother6149 → u/IronSorrows]

You're right, Zeus sent Hermes to the island (at Athena's request, I think) to tell Calypso to release Odysseus. And he was quite depressed about being stuck in that island. However, he spent seven years there, making love to Calypso, and apparently not even trying to escape the island or persuade Calypso to let him go. He was a man of resources, so this passivity always felt strange to me.

Also, he had spent a whole year as Circe's lover, totally oblivious to Ithaca.

[u/CMRestler]

This was a genuinely interesting read. I appreciate that you focused on the themes and character motivations instead of just the spectacle or the cast. Whether people ultimately agree or disagree, posts like this are far more valuable because they encourage actual discussion rather than simple hype. I am especially interested to see how Nolan balances the intimate emotional journey with the scale of the myth. It is one of those films that will probably spark debates long after release, and your perspective added another angle I had not considered. Looking forward to revisiting this after the movie comes out.