With: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Will Yun Lee, Corey Hawkins, Mia Goth, Logan Marshall-Green, Jimmy Gonzales, Andrew Howard, Travis Scott, Elliot Page, James Remar, Bill Irwin
Written by: Christopher Nolan, based on the epic poem by Homer
Christopher Nolan's fan base consider him the world's greatest filmmaker, and, sometimes, in the darkest nights of his soul, I suspect that he may agree with them. He has his faults, however. His films can be maddeningly opaque and aloof. His preference for muddled sound design has been called into question. His palette veers toward the dreary. Plus, it's safe to say that he tends to prefer technology and spectacle over emotions and people. He's not the first director to consider characters as an afterthought compared to the majesty of the filmmaking itself. Certainly his idol Stanley Kubrick was accused of the same.
In 2018, Nolan presented theatrical showings of an "unrestored" version of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, allowing for audiences to see it as it originally unspooled in 1968. Any filmmaker who draws attention to the wonders of film history, acting as a teacher as well as an artist (I'm looking at you, Martin Scorsese), especially when that filmmaker has such a rabid fan base, is OK in my book. Not to mention that Nolan gets filmgoers excited to come to the movies. Imagine a throng of ticket-buyers chomping at the bit to see a serious, historical three-hour biopic, and making it into a box-office smash.
Happily, Nolan's thirteenth film The Odyssey is a good deal better and more entertaining than Oppenheimer, even if it stumbles a bit here and there. Nolan adapted the tale, which was written by Homer in the third century B.C., consisting of 24 "books" and 12,109 lines, therefore necessitating some changes. I haven't read it myself in ages, but, broadly speaking, Nolan has eliminated some characters — notably the gods — and compressed and re-arranged some scenes, and tweaked the ending.
The writing isn't as stodgy or as stuffy as I feared it would be. It's not poetic or dazzling in any way, and not particularly revealing or emotional, but it's serviceable… normal. It sounds appropriate for that time period and that place. It doesn't seem likely that many acting nominations will come out of it. (Oppenheimer earned three but that's what biopics do.) Anne Hathaway, however, has a big moment in which she rages and emotes that would make a good Oscar clip. (I hope more people catch up to her fine work in this year's overlooked Mother Mary.)
Matt Damon stars as Odysseus, and it's a strong casting choice. Damon brings more "movie star" gravitas to the role than "serious actor," so it never feels like he's showing off. Rather, his innate likability suggest a warrior whose men would gladly follow him and remain loyal to him. Then, the movie is so packed with movie stars that it might make you feel like you're watching a grand old Hollywood epic like The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, or, Kubrick again, Spartacus.
Odysseus goes to war in Troy — a battle that culminates with the "Trojan Horse" ploy — and is gone for ten years. His loving wife Penelope (Hathaway) pines for him, while a hall full of belligerent suitors vie for her hand in marriage. Her son Telemachus (Tom Holland) believes, knows, that his father is alive, but since he's the heir to the throne, his life is in constant danger. Nor can he do anything to send away the unwelcome suitors, due to Zeus's Law, which deems that all visitors will get food and drink and hospitality. If he so much as gets into a fight, he could be exiled. Against his mother's wishes, he goes on a secret mission to find out what he can.
Over the course of another ten years, Odysseus tries to get his men home. While looking for supplies, they are trapped by a Cyclops (played in mo-cap by Bill Irwin). They manage to escape after puncturing the creature's single eye, but Odysseus angers Poseidon, the sea god, and the creature's father, which changes their luck and sends them off course. They encounter the sorceress Circe (Samantha Morton), the sirens, a giant whirlpool, and a giant monster. They make a trip to Hades for help finding their way home, and Odysseus winds up spending years in the arms of Calypso (Charlize Theron), his memory fogged by the Lotus flowers she feeds him.
Other big-time movie stars appear in what amounts to mere minutes onscreen. Robert Pattinson plays Antinous, the cowardly, conniving suitor of Penelope who slurps wine and schemes. Benny Safdie plays King Agamemnon, and Jon Bernthal plays his brother Menelaus. Lupita Nyong'o plays Helen of Troy (whose "face launched a thousand ships") and her sister Clytemnestra. Zendaya plays the goddess Athena, who only appears to Odysseus. (She has no scenes with her beau Tom.) John Leguizamo plays Eumaeus, Odysseus's faithful blind servant, who oversees Telemachus's battle training. Mia Goth, who had three movies to herself a couple of years ago, has a couple of scenes as the queen's devious handmaiden. You will also spot Himesh Patel, Will Yun Lee, Corey Hawkins, Elliot Page, James Remar, etc.
One of Nolan's pet themes has always been time. Sometimes he finds ways to make jumping around in time confusing (Dunkirk) and other times he makes it utterly clear (Following, Memento). This is also one of those times. The story spans decades, and the film manages to capture that feel of passing time, of lost time. Flashbacks to the Trojan War are well-placed and logical, as are flash-forwards to the confused Odysseus living with Calypso. The structure is complex without ever being unclear. It's almost like how Roger Ebert described Citizen Kane; you can see the film any number of times, and still never be quite sure what sequence is coming next.
As for the audio mix, the jury is still out. The film was unfortunately screened in IMAX (which was inevitable, given that it's the first feature film entirely shot in IMAX), and my personal experience with IMAX sound is not great. I was able to follow a decent portion of the dialogue, which is good for a Nolan film, but action and attack sequences, and especially storms at sea, emerged in a constant thrumming that was just unpleasant. I'd like to see the film again sometime in a regular theater or at home and re-assess the sound.
Another problem with IMAX was revealed with Oppenheimer. Nolan prefers his films to be shot and shown on film. IMAX projectors, because of their size and the weight of the film, can only hold the equivalent of three hours' worth of movie. That's why the running time of Oppenheimer was exactly three hours. Nolan couldn't go over even one second. The Odyssey is a few minutes shorter, but the climactic sequence felt sloppy and rushed, even amateurish and ham-fisted, as if clumsily rushing to the finish line, racing against that three-hour deadline.
This sequence is the showdown between Odysseus and Telemachus and the suitors. Nolan cuts back and forth between three sections. Odysseus dispatches suitor after suitor in an overly-choreographed attack plan, feeling more generic than exciting. Telemachus is upstairs where the weapons have been hidden, fighting an even more badly-choreographed fight with a single opponent. Worse than that, Antinous hides behind a pillar, screaming instructions at his fellow suitors, but refusing to join the fight. The timing between these three sections is all off as well; characters are left hanging.
I'm sure most will call Pattinson's performance "scene-stealing," but to me, he fails to hit that delicate balance that villains need, finding that elusive motivation, and it amounts to nothing more than overacting. Truthfully, the tonal shift at this point was so strong and so obvious that it took me out of the movie. It recalled that moment toward the end of Schindler's List in which Schindler breaks character and suddenly starts speechifying about how many more people he could have saved if he'd sold some stuff. I was with The Odyssey for most of the time, and this climax deflated my sails. Maybe I was just tired by that point; IMAX does have a tendency to overwhelm, even with movies that are less than two hours.
Honestly, I would like to see this again someday and re-assess those problems of sound and rhythm at some other date in some other way. I let myself ponder the film for a day or so after seeing it, and, despite my reservations over Nolan's talents, I kept coming back to it with warm feelings. It really is a grand, big-screen epic boys' adventure that feels both old-fashioned and entertaining, as well as mature and artistic, made with a passion for the medium. With its focus on Zeus's Law (treat others as you would want to be treated yourself), The Odyssey is a timeless story effectively re-worked for these times, and a siren song calling cinema lovers back to theaters.
