The Odyssey Movie Review:

Arete. This simple Greek word holds the key to understanding why thinkers think, engineers build marvels, writers write magnum opuses, and filmmakers want to make great films. Arete is the realisation of one’s potential on the path to excellence. With The Odyssey, director Christopher Nolan has embarked on one such path. In fact, it is like almost everything he has done so far in his career has built to this moment. The Odyssey has every theme that has become synonymous with Nolan. There’s the concept of time, the promise of a father, the wait of a child, the fate of a wife, the betrayal of your faith, society’s descent into madness, sacrifice for the greater good, questioning the status quo, the idea of home, and flawed humans who don’t know what to do with the consequences of their ‘heroic’ actions.

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Samantha Morton, Charlize Theron, Robert Pattinson

Based on Homer’s ancient Greek epic of the same name, The Odyssey is Nolan’s first attempt at mythical fantasy. Interestingly, it is also his most political and grounded film since he started reimagining superheroes, space, sleep, and struggles. It is like the culmination of his war trilogy. If Dunkirk (2017) was about the spirit of survival in war, and Oppenheimer (2023) dealt with the horrors of creating something that would change how the world waged war, The Odyssey is about survivors reflecting on the horrors of the wars they waged. Through Odysseus (a terrific Matt Damon) and his journey home from the Trojan War, Nolan builds a narrative that respects the source material without conflating it with loyalty. This helps the film a lot because your understanding of Nolan’s The Odyssey isn’t hinged on knowing the almost 3000-year-old epic by heart. Even if you are unaware of what the Odyssey is all about, the film does more than enough to draw you into a world filled with both mythical beings of the past and incisive political commentary on the present. 

Nolan isn’t reinventing the wheel with this film, or saying things that haven’t been said before in a variety of films across genres. However, what has always set Nolan apart is its strong emotional core, even if the scale of his vision and the grandeur of its execution take the lion’s share of the conversation. Here, when we see the Trojan Horse that paved the way for Agamemnon (Benny Safdie) and the Achaeans to win the Trojan War, we aren’t distracted by the horse, but are worried about what happens to Sinon (Elliot Page), who is left alone on the beach. When we see Odysseus, Eurylochus (A wonderful Himesh Patel), and the band of warriors come in close contact with Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon, we aren’t in awe of the visuals of the one-eyed Giant, but are realising how the simplest of choices can lead to catastrophic results. Similarly, when Odysseus and Calypso (A meditative Charlize Theron) are in conversation on the white sands of Western Sahara, we aren’t just drinking in the beauty of the unbroken vista of nothingness, but are also nudged to understand the importance of memories, and how that is all we have when life comes to a standstill. And when these warriors find themselves at the mercy of Circe (A stellar Samantha Morton), even before we can come to terms with the kind of magical realism in the film, we start thinking about how the war-mongers write off atrocities as ‘collateral damage.’ This combination of visual spectacle and emotionally stirring moments makes The Odyssey one of Nolan’s most compelling films. 

There is a wonderful contrast in how Nolan treats the scenes featuring Odysseus after the Trojan War and those involving Penelope (an outstanding Anne Hathaway), Telemachus (an assured Tom Holland), and Antinous (A sinisterly good Robert Pattinson). Through cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema’s brilliant work, Nolan frames Odysseus as one with nature, allowing the audience to see the vastness of a journey that takes him through mountains, oceans, whirlpools, torrential rains, caverns, and actual hell in Hades. In contrast, the scenes involving Penelope, Telemachus, and Antinous are suffocating and set in confined spaces that seem to grow smaller as the film progresses. Jennifer Lame's editing balances the implosion in the vast expanse and the explosion in constricted spaces so wonderfully. Composer Ludwig Goransson bridges these moments by knowing when to build to a crescendo, when to allow silence to take over, when to make the audience sway to the waves, and when to engulf them in the frailties of a fiery war.

While the film is firmly about Odysseus’ travels and the things he sees after effecting untoward things in the Trojan War, it is also about the intense relationship between Penelope-Telemachus and Penelope-Odysseus. Here are two sets of people who carry immense love for each other, but don’t think twice before discussing ambition, passion, and the lack of it with cataclysm. These conversations are toxic and deeply unsettling. However, this also exemplifies how a war can easily change what the greater good means, and what it does to people who are forced to stay back holding the fort. This also comes through the character of Eumaeus (A superb John Leguizamo), whose loyalty keeps him put at Ithaca, but at what cost? How do they move on? Should they move on? What if moving on is as dangerous as staying put? In fact, the same questions plague the minds of Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus, and Nolan tries to put them all on the same pedestal without glorifying any sacrifice and admonishing any compromise.

Also, Odysseus’ journey plays out like a video game with various levels, each with a final boss of sorts. These levels are emotionally stirring and deal with various themes that question the concept of war and ask if it has all been worth it. But there are times when these feel like extended set pieces, making you aware that The Odyssey is an almost 3-hour film. If certain plot devices take too long a journey to come to the point, some are too rushed for the momentousness to register. And then there are some scenes that are just perfectly poised and placed. Take, for instance, the scene involving Odysseus crossing the Island of Sirens. 

Despite the film being based on one of the quintessential war ballads, The Odyssey takes its time to show the Trojan War and the violence wreaked on the city of Troy. The violence is barbaric, senseless, and grotesque. It isn’t portrayed as the result of heroism, but the consequence of ill-fated choices. Through Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra (Lupita Nyong’o), Nolan discusses the illusion of choice among people who might seem to be all-powerful. Through Athena (Zendaya), Nolan explores the burden of guilt that ‘conscientious heroes’ carry throughout their lives. As Odysseus sees the aftermath of his Trojan Horse plan, we can draw parallels to King Ashoka's renunciation of violence and embrace of Buddhism. Even today, we see people suffering from war, which has just got technological upgrades to its barbarism. When Odysseus rues the destruction of society’s moral fabric and the fact that Zeus’ Law isn’t being upheld, we can draw parallels to the modern-day immigrant crisis, where the same excitement about sharing the spoils of war isn’t extended to its scars.

Ancient Greece was considered the pinnacle of modernity of its era, and yet, it gave birth to a war treatise like the Odyssey. In today’s world, where technological advancements are making the world a global village, and we are at the pinnacle of modernity, there is still a need for The Odyssey, simply because not many would read 24 books, 12109 lines, to realise that war has never solved anything. As Nolan once wrote, “Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space,” and like love, humanity always finds a way back home.