by G.E. Uke, Reporter

When I heard that Christopher Nolan was producing The Odyssey, I knew it would be something special. He loves to use flashbacks, massive cinematic effects, and heavy intellectual themes in everything he makes. And Nolan absolutely did do all of that with The Odyssey. This movie checks off all the Christopher Nolan boxes…for better and for worse.

The biggest compliment I have for this film is that it wasn’t a superhero movie. There were no attempts to make Odysseus bombastic or heroically gritty, and even during his slaughter of the suitors, he was never depicted as a superhero. The camera work was explicitly naturalistic and grounded: this movie didn’t lean Troy, it went Saving Private Ryan. Nolan uses as little CGI as possible and shoots the entire thing on IMAX cameras, which makes things like the cyclops and scylla more real when they show up. It is, in a word, haunting.

On the subject of realism: The Odyssey is not stunning because it tries to be impressive. It’s stunning because it tries to be real. Instead of attempting to satisfy the modern public’s taste for drama or adrenaline (though the movie certainly delivers those), it tries to be an epic in movie form. Its power derives from the treatment of the land and the characters. I heard no modern music in this film, and there was little to no score. What music it did have seemed to be done with primitive instruments. This was a bold move, and I wholeheartedly believe it was the right one. 

There were a lot of big-name actors in this film. Expounding on their performances would take a lot of time, so I’ll stick with the main ones. Matt Damon did an excellent job as Odysseus because he portrayed a great, complex man without making him a hero. He ably carries the heavy themes of guilt, loneliness, responsibility, and learned helplessness in the face of divinity that Odysseus MUST experience for it to actually BE The Odyssey. I also appreciated that the Trojan Horse wasn’t depicted as some clever idea resulting in a heroic victory. His remorse at the slaughter his idea enabled gave him a dignified maturity we rarely see in cinematic characters these days. 

Tom Holland’s depiction of Telemachus was frustrating, but I will concede it was on point for the character. His experiences parallel Odysseus’s journey well, though adhering to the original epic creates a number of scenes that require suspension of disbelief. I was also very impressed with Robert Pattinson, who has come a LONG way as an actor since Twilight. He’s a good villain because he manifests very human levels of ambition, deceit, and shame regarding his past. There are times you can’t tell if he’s being deceitful or honest, because not even he truly knows. In the end, his avarice gets the better of him, and he greenlights things that push him firmly into villain territory. The fact that he doesn’t instantly fairy-leap over that line is what made his performance excellent. 

The female roles in this movie were also quite good. Anne Hathaway’s Penelope strikes a delicate balance of wisdom and pain. She’s a mature woman in an untenable situation, and you can really feel her anxiety throughout the film. I also enjoyed Charlize Theron’s portrayal of Calypso: not as a sex-pot nymph like so many hack retellings of the Odyssey like to portray her, but as a wise and ancient being who helps Odysseus in spite of her loneliness. As for Zendaya…her role as Athena wasn’t involved enough that she had much of a chance to shine, which is a pity. I feel like that role could have been filled by anyone, though this in no way diminishes her as an actress. 

I anticipate that The Odyssey will blow people away, not just because of its grandeur and heart, but because most people won’t expect it to be the way that it is.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives The Odyssey – 5 out of 5 star-packed adventures.

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