Following the end of the Trojan War, Odysseus (Matt Damon) heads home.
Tormented by his experiences, Odysseus is determined to bring his men home.
While he is away, his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) attempts to ward off a mob of suitors thirsting for Odysseus’s crown.
The Odyssey took a while to write. On the one hand, my feelings coming out of the screening were pretty solid. But then I started reading other people’s takes, and started doubting my basic takeaways.
This does not always happen, but I do find there is at least one to two films a year that get seized on by the zeitgeist, and I find myself approaching my own writing in a kind of defensive crouch, as though I am afraid of sharing my own opinion.
In this case, I am a bit agnostic on Christopher Nolan’s movies. I would not say they have never resonated with me, but I am not rushing out to see every movie (as of this writing I still have not seen Oppenheimer).
I can appreciate some more than others, and I always enjoy watching them on the big screen, but I never go back to them.
After catching Tenet last year, I thought the dam might have broken - I could not follow the intricacies of time travel, but there was something about its scope, messiness and the nihilism of the villain that I got into.
I was trying to think about why I do not like his films that much and it came down to a couple of things: one was Angelica Jade Bastien talking about how limited the female roles are in Nolan’s work.
It made me think about how I sometimes find his characters to feel more functional - not that this is necessarily a bad thing (he casts well) but there are times and films where the character is clearly defined, but in a way that I personally find so clearly defined it can come across as bland.
Sometimes this does not matter - I think DiCaprio’s character in Inception is not that interesting on his own, but as a piece of the film, it is irrelevant.
I also caught a comment from another critic I enjoy, Jourdain Searles, who ripped the bandaid off and pointed out how ridiculously straightforward Nolan’s thematic concerns are e.g. war is bad.
This comment, and a second viewing, finally uncorked it for me.
Basically, it is not that deep. I think Nolan is talented, and has a singular vision. But it is not one I want to bury myself in.
The Odyssey feels a bit more my speed.
There is something about how it reckons with the effects of war that resonated - it is fairly straightforward and emotive idea.
The Trojan War, specifically his role in ending it, infects every aspect of Odysseus’s return home.
Even before this moment, the film is occupied with the fallout of the war: Aggememnon murdered, Helen scarred and imprisoned in her own home, and Odysseus’s own trauma, reflected in his visions of Athena (Zendaya) - the only deity we see, for reasons that become clear.
The film is at its strongest when delivering Odysseus’s final epiphany - his final reconciliation of his actions, and what he must do in restitution.
The set pieces - especially the Cyclops, the giant Laestrygonians - are effective, but I left impressed with the impact of the war, almost more so than the setpieces, and that is important.
Not that I did not enjoy the movie up to that point, but Odysseus is taken with concepts of honour; his gambit with the Trojan Horse violates this code, as well as defying Athena, in whose name it was supposedly in.
The cumulative weight of the Trojan War overshadows the momentary peril of Odysseus’s other adventures: on the re-watch, each of them feel like divine punishments, not just from the gods, but the world.
The constant paranoia about the people from the sea is really a stand-in. There is an overriding feeling of decline - war has sucked the life out of the Greeks. It was Agamemnon’s venture across the sea which destroyed this civilisation, and Odysseus is doomed for supporting it.
Damon is a welcome central presence, bringing weight, intelligence and frailty.
He is also believable as someone just egotistical enough to screw up (when he shoots the Cyclops). Odysseus’s more headstrong qualities - his desire to save his men, and wrest control of fate away from the gods - come across as earnest expressions of self-belief.
While I was impressed by the visual effects, I am so jaded I was not fully sure of when something was a physical or optical effect.
Scylla was the one disappointment - it appears to be computer-generated, but my major issue is how it (she?) looked. Nolan does not really go for theatricality, but I was underwhelmed by the design - while a camouflaged entity that disguises itself as rocks could be interesting, it comes off as mundane. This is a minor complaint.
Of the various antagonists, it is Circe’s sequence that stands out.
It is ironic for a movie that has been sold on its spectacle and sense of scale that its most effective set-piece comes down to one actor in one familiar environment.
Morton’s performance is so singular she stands out, even after the cyclops and the giant Laestrygonians. She brings the residue of a history of past pain inflicted by men. In a way, she reflects the trauma of the root of evil that is bringing down this world.
Most of the other women in this film are spouting exposition (Lupita Nyongo’s Helen) or pushing Odysseus on (Charlize Theron’s Calypso). Their casting works for the movie in terms of presence, but they are the equivalent of non-playable characters in a video game.
By contrast, Samantha Morton is an island into herself. Hers is a knowing performance, filled with weariness and muffled disdain for the repetition of human cruelty.
She was one of the highlights of my first screening, but she really stuck out on my re-viewing.
Another highlight is Melenus - brother of Agamemnon (Benny Safdie) and husband of Helen. Jon Bernthal is so well-cast, bringing an earthy swagger and humor that the film frankly needs.
While he seems content, there is a void around him. He is the one who got home with everything (his wife and life) he wanted, but he is now hollowed out.
Safdie’s Agamemnon is barely seen, an almost Vader-like silhouette. The only time he gets a close up is when he is killed - the moment his power is broken.
Page gets a brief but meaty role as Sinon. Usually presented as a traitor in other tellings of the Trojan War, here he is a victim - a poor soldier who only realises how manipulated he is when he is dead.
Robert Pattinson is also fantastic as the slippery suitor Antinous - willing to do whatever it takes for the throne, but not willing to get his own hands dirty.
With Nolan’s work, I always have to account for personal taste. With these kinds of films, I do miss a certain level of theatricality. Based on my vague familiarity with the source, I was expecting more sensuality, although thematically it would not make sense - this is a world sapped of life.
While it is dour, the movie has some good moments of humour - Corey Hawkins gets a legitimate sight gag, and Elliot Page gets the funniest line in the picture (“Feel free to add some stuff”).
Overall, an enjoyable watch. While the film is fairly straightforward, I wonder how its success - coming amidst both the industry’s struggles and the US’s seemingly inevitable collapse following its pointless war in Iran - will be viewed in retrospect.
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