An annual tradition for my family was watching The Ten Commandments on Easter Saturday night. Usually I’m laughing at the distracting blood curdling shrieks during Passover while normal conversation is going on. But this time, I was struck at the scene after, as Cecil B. DeMille gathered thousands of extras to simulate the Jewish march out of Egypt, an incredible sight to see. Those type of epics are rare and special: you know one when you see one. And thanks to Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey leaps into the stratosphere that only the daring few films could ever dare to become. Make sure you go to the bathroom before, then sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
Homer’s Odyssey is thousands of years old at this point. Told non linearly, Nolan’s film regails with the tale of Odysseus (Matt Damon). He’s the king of Ithaca, and the hero of the Trojan War, using a famous, unorthodox strategy to win the battle for Agamemnon (Benny Safdie) of Greece. However, at the opening, that was years ago. Odysseus’s wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) hold out small hope that their husband/father is still alive. But threats grow at their doorstep in the form of suitors for the queen like Polybus (Corey Hawkins) and Antinous (Robert Pattinson), hoping to use their cunning to capture the throne. Meanwhile, Odysseus is in fact alive, just on the journey of all journeys to try to get home, encountering figures like Circe (Samantha Morton), Athena (Zendaya), Calypso (Charlize Theron), and maybe a cyclops as well.
From the guy who just won all the Oscars with Oppenheimer, and made The Dark Knight and Inception, I didn’t know there was more Christopher Nolan could find ways to improve his craft. And yet, he does with The Odyssey. This is his most accomplished film, beginning to end. As a writer, he remains faithful to the nonlinear Homer arc, weaving a masterful tapestry of adventures Odysseus finds himself in with the political struggle Telemachus and Penelope are having against Antinous. The balance is his master stroke: Odysseus’s tale isn’t all thrilling, and Penelope/Telemachus isn’t all reset and buildup. Nolan finds a way to make the political intrigue just interesting enough to be on equal footing with Odysseus, investing the audience in both tales. This is key because their convergence is the big finale, and Nolan makes the audience care about EVERYONE so that finale really earns its keep.
As a visual storyteller, Nolan’s as talented as ever. He uses every bit of that big budget to make the Odyssey feel that size and scope. Our first shot of Odysseus is on this endless beach connected to endless water setting the stage immediately. The battles were always going to rock: the siege of Troy and the cyclops confrontation are incredible highlights, bringing to life timeless stories in Nolan’s practical but still quasi fantastical image, accentuated by his use of sound. I really felt like I was in that cave or opening the gate with Odysseus and his men. The new wrinkle Nolan throws at us here is how adept he is at horror filmmaking. Circe is a witch, and what Nolan conjures up in that part of The Odyssey is truly chilling, through grotesque design and clever editing. Being a Greek myth, I knew Hades was going to show up. But where and how Nolan shoots that sequence chilled my bones to my core, making me feel like I was out of time, in a place I did not belong and had to get away from as soon as possible. In Ithaca, the problems are more personal, so Nolan uses dim, shadows and that claustrophobic mess hall to make you feel like things are closing in on Penelope/Telemachus as Antinous slowly gains power and agency. And when Odysseus needs a more intimate moment, Nolan brightens things up so we can see what he’s going through on his face, especially with Calypso.
But Christopher Nolan’s main goal of The Odyssey is to actually demythologize the story, and make it about a man. Helping in that quest is the who’s who of Hollywood, turning in some of their best work. Odysseus will be on the Matt Damon Mt. Rushmore with Will Hunting, Tom Ripley, and either Jason Bourne, Mark Whitacre or Mark Whatney. The criticized modern dialogue helps Damon immensely here, as he gets chances to make little amusing comments while commandeering his men and his ships. The physical transformation is impressive in beard alone, but he really gives it his all in these battles to make everyone understand why Odysseus has stories told about him. And when its time to be emotional, Damon takes off the “solider mask” for a human one, feeling frustrated, or melancholic, or scared, whatever the scene needs him to be. But it’s not just Matt. The Odyssey is a great reminder that Tom Holland isn’t just Spiderman; at one time he was a pretty exciting actor who actually showed real non superhero range. His Telemachus has a little wide eyed Peter Parker in there, but there’s more humanity and frailty to Odysseus’s son, letting Holland show his helplessness as well. His travels to learn about his father lead to one of the best payoffs of the movie. Anne Hathaway gives the emotional heft of the story though, as Odysseus has to be a stoic soldier a lot. At least she’s more nuanced than a standard Nolan wife, exhibiting power and political cunning, while privately feeling frustrated and forlorn as one more day goes by without the king of Ithaca. Of the non family members, Robert Pattinson is having shapeshifty fun with Antonius. He’s a great villain for the story as Odysseus’s opposite, unwilling to do any real work but take credit like he has done something. Samantha Morton is chilling as Circe, taking a smaller segment and making it one of the movie’s highlights. John Leguizamo has some wonderful emotional moments as Eumaeus, an aging, blind, loyal servant to Odysseus. But the “Nolan career resurrector” award goes to Elliot Page. The great Nolan vet has come out the other side of his surgery, making a small role into one of the key parts to The Odyssey’s lasting power. Oh, and Argos the dog, with THE big climax of the movie.
The power of an epic is usually its rarity. I don’t know when I will see another one. But The Odyssey is the last probably since Avengers: Endgame, and before that, the Lord of The Rings Trilogy. If that timeframe is any indication, we won’t have another one for at least a decade. Maybe Christopher Nolan will be involved, maybe he won’t. But in an already stellar resume of great films, he can proudly add “Successful Hollywood Epic” after this masterpiece. Especially if Matt Damon finally gets that acting Oscar he’s never won before.