Just happy to be here

Pros:

One thing I can say is that this film was stunning. The set was incredible and I am so glad everything was practical effects.

The use of a puppet for Polyphemus was so cool, and a bit unsettling, but made the scene feel more real. In the same sense the use of actual height difference for the giants, and real boats and ocean sets made so much difference.

I also feel like the characters of Penelope, Telemachus, Eumaeus and Antinous were extremely well done, yes they are all well known actors, but I feel they really were able to embody whom they were playing. I especially appreciate the scene between Odysseys and Telemachus when he returns home and encounters Argus, prompting Telemachus to realize it’s his father. That was one of the few scenes that felt actually emotionally deep.

The set was also stunning and I appreciate so much the use of actual locations in a time in which so much is digitally enhanced or even fully created. Having characters actually interact with their surroundings and using nature to guide the shots didn’t go unnoticed.

I also feel like this film is a very good introduction to the Odyssey for those who have very little knowledge of the story. It gives plenty of context and makes it modern enough that an audience can understand without having to have much context of the whole story nor its characters. It includes the Trojan war from the Iliad, which gives some background that is not necessarily central to the Odyssey alone. Also most of the characters say aloud what they are going to do next/what has happened so that one can follow along without nuance.

I also did appreciate the use of POC characters, though more on that later. As well as the inclusion of Sinon, a character in the Aneid. Having Elliot Page’s inclusion as his character who doesn’t actually appear in the Odyssey at all, is an interesting take on Page as a trans person. His character is known for being lying and deceitful, however in this film he is presented as an unknowing child used as bait for war. I doubt it was intentional, but it does somewhat reflect the way in which trans identities are dealt with in real life. There is so much political turmoil surrounding trans identities and villifying the community, when in actuality we are just people who somehow got made the center of a conflict we had no choice in becoming part of.

This along with Sinon agreeing to trade places with Antinous at Odysseus’ request, and still getting the short end of the stick. I did appreciate the opportunity to flesh out Antinous as a character as well.

The soundtrack of the film was very well done as well. It followed the pacing of the movie and brought in tension when necessary. I especially enjoyed the part in which Odysseus’ crew encounters the sirens and the music becomes muted to mimic the wax in their ears, somewhat showing the audience is also being deafened from the encroaching siren’s song.

As is true with most of Nolan’s films, this movie created action and anticipation extremely well. Every action scene was incredibly well directed and choreographed. It was clear he spent a lot of time creating scenes that would be visually engaging while also showing the gravity of the situation. Each island and its inhabitants had their own unique way of diminishing Odysseus’ crew and this was very well done.

With the Cyclops it was a slow and mostly non lethal killing. The cyclops was intimidating due to its sheer size, but wasn’t outwardly confrontational and was merely going about its business and used the men for food. This versus the giants who very quickly killed 2/3 of Odysseus’ crew with no mercy. Or even with the Suitors. Focusing the camera on Odysseus showed how he was outnumbered but still held the upper hand. This was well done mixed with the parallels of Telemachus and the goat heard as well. Each scene was clearly crafted with thought and time.

I also really enjoyed the conclusion of the movie and how Odysseus and Telemachus’ homecoming was portrayed. It felt very intentional and was the only time I truly felt invested in the characters and their connection with one another. Especially the scenes in which Telemachus is watching his parents interact for the first time from aside and seems to be trying to decipher what they are thinking and planning while also being emotionally invested.

Cons:

The first complaint I have with this film is that everything is told and not shown. There is very little for the audience to infer, which takes away from the whole original plot of this Odyssey which is built upon the unknown and the act of trusting oneself and the divine order of things.

From there my second gripe about this movie is the character of Odysseus. While Matt Damon did an amazing job as an actor, it just didn’t feel like Odysseus. His character at its core is a witty and ambitious man who makes sometimes not the most convincing decisions, but with a good heart. He is supposed to be polutropos (a word of many meanings, but most commonly many sided.) Yet in this film he felt flat. He was very somber and serious and all of his choices seemed to be just out of luck. This exclusion of him telling Polyphemus his name is nobody removes his cleverness, replaced with him simply shooting the being for seemingly no reason. His character is not convincing as a strong clever leader, and it feels like the inclusion, and maybe a bit overdone use, of the Trojan horse was shown to force the audience to believe in his skill.

His interactions with Athena also lacked any depth. She is supposed to view him as her most skilled and prized mentee, but instead has been presented as simply a manifestation of his guilt. She is never once shown giving his any guidance nor assistance. Athena and Odysseus also are supposed to have a sort of friendship between the two of them in which she provides him aid and guidance and he shows this by using his cleverness and wit to impress the goddess of wisdom. Their connection is lost when he defys her as well, yet she continues to fight for him behind the scenes. Her character is reduced to almost nothing and makes it seem as if Odysseus did everything on his own just out of pure luck.

Telemachus’ mentor was also supposed to be a manifestation of Athena, teaching him how to defend himself like she did his father. But this whole plot line was removed, replaced with the sentiment that no men are gods despite mentioning he had “wise eyes”.

Athena is so very genuinely the only reason Odysseus made it home alive. She was there for him even after he disrespected her, making sure that the other gods, though he displeased them, let him live. In this film she did nothing but appear in silence at times. She was the reason both Odysseus and Telemachus could engage in battles with the suitors without dying as well.

I also found the parallel between Zendaya’s imagery of Athena with the beheading of her statue to be interesting. This film seemed like it really wanted to push the narrative that people were not gods, but it also kind of make it seem as if the gods actually didn’t hold much power at all. This scene diminishes Athena’s divinity by making her human like the rest of the inhabitants of Troy. I think it would have been more beneficial as a scene if Odysseus’ character had taken it as a sign to give his worship to Athena to make up for the destruction of the statue. Using this as a sort of push for him to devote himself to the goddess and realize her strength.

I won’t go on with all of them because every female character was lacking. But with Penelope she too is supposed to be a clever trickster and Odysseus’ equal. Anne Hathaway did a phenomenal job with her character, but Penelope wasn’t given much to work with. She was reduced to a grieving wife awaiting her husband’s return. While removing the trickery of her own. She had many clever ways of prolonging her inevitable re-marriage, as well as the dis-inclusion of her tricking her husband upon his return. She is to ask him to remove their wedding bed which only he knows is carved from the tree in which they first met. By replacing this with the exchange of a pin it removes so much of their relationship to one another and how much he loves her, as well as never showcasing just how clever she is as well.

Calypso and Circe were fine as characters. I didn’t enjoy their costuming nor that they were so pale. Circe also had none of her nymphs and the way in which she performed her magic bordered on body horror over whimsical transformations. Her character also was very watered down. She simply hands over the men to Odysseus and tells him everything after he asks. Whereas she is supposed to be much more clever and deceitful. Asking him to stay with him and sleep with her as she is lonely and wishes for love. She is one of the most powerful magicians in the Greek world and all of this falls flat. I will say the depictions of the men’s greed was well done.

Calypso I simply did not like much at all. She for some reason was the beholder of the lotus and they completely omitted the Lotus Eaters entirely. She also felt far too self assured for someone who so desperately wanted nothing more than human connection on her isolated island. She did mention keeping Odysseus for longer than he wished, but made no effort to keep him once he asked to leave. Athena was supposed to intervene to help him escape, but instead she just helped him build the raft and leave. She too was supposed to be a powerful goddess and this isn’t shown at all. Her powers are replaced with just feeding him the flowers making her feel kind of like a placeholder instead of an obstacle. She was supposed to be ordered by Hermes via Zeus’ orders to aid and release Odysseus, but instead she just admits he’d overstayed his welcome and can go back to his wife.

The last thing I want to say regarding women is that Helen, especially being one of the only black characters, should not have been disfigured. This removes the notion that her beauty is otherworldly, being like that of a god as well. Her beauty is suspected to literally be that of divine magic. She is a character that is undoubtedly beautiful, but in a way that is a bit unsettling and hard to fully understand. Yet in scarring her it forces her to succumb to being human, going back to the notion gods don’t exist among men, and removing her power to merely a wife and a a pawn. This is also an interesting choice as she was cast as a dark skinned black woman, feeling almost tokenizing and performative. I will say she did an amazing job with the role however.

I did appreciate the inclusion of Agamemnon sacrificing their daughter to Artemis before the war, as this was drawn from the Orestia not the Odyssey. But did add some backstory.

Now it’s not that big of a deal in some sense, the Odyssey is quite long and non linear, and I understand not including everything, however some of the things Nolan removed were kind of pivotal to the plot. As aforementioned he never mentioned the nobody scene where Odysseus faces the Cyclops, which is fine, though would have been nice. However he also never foolishly announces himself to the sea god upon escaping the island. This scene sets up the reason for their journey being so perilous. It showcases how his character, who is usually very clever and thoughtful, had a momentary lapse in judgment that set the course for the rest of the journey. Instead Eurylocus simply said that Polyphemus was the son of Poseidon and that was that.

Backtracking from this, the exclusion of the lotus eaters was an interesting choice. Instead Calypso is the one to introduce these plants but not until the end. Odysseus is supposed to learn about them and be given instructions from the island’s inhabitants as to how to obtain food, leading him to the cyclops’ island. From here he shows his cleverness again by mixing lotus with wine causing Polyphemus to fall into sleep long enough for them to execute their plan. I also kind of wanted to see them strap themselves to the sheep instead of simply using hay, but that’s excusable.

In this film the whole scene with the Giant simply feels like an inconvenience. It was set up as something grand, and ends up being underwhelming. The Cyclops puppet, while extremely impressive, wasn’t exactly menacing to the men. He was more of a road block they had to dodge. The cyclops in the original text seemed more like a foreigner than a monster. (The men in the movie also don’t ever kill his sheep which is supposed to set up the whole scene, I suppose this instead shows the men as being in the right and being attacked unprovoked). But Polyphemus is a young Cyclops defending his herd from predators. Here he’s just a clumsy giant who eats and sleeps.

After leaving his island the crew is supposed to seek assistance from Aeolus, the wind god, at the suggestion of Athena. This scene is completely omitted. While I understand the impracticality of creating a sky island. The bag could have simply been dropped from the sky or something. The inclusion of this scene sets up Odysseus’ crew as distrusting of their Captain at times. In opening the bag it showcases both Odysseus’ devotion to returning home, staying away for several days and getting almost back to Ithaca, as well as the crew defying him setting up their later betrayal by eating Helios’ cows.

The island of the giants was fine, they were giants. I didn’t particularly like the inclusion of armor because I feel like they just kinda used brute strength to overpower Odysseus’ crew. But it looked cool.

The encounters with the sirens was very well done for the most part. I do wish we had seen them especially in the case of the man escaping the boat. But their ambiguity I actually appreciated. This was seen from Eurylocus’ perspective, letting the sirens song be an experience only Odysseus and Odysseus alone could fully experience. You could see his struggle without ever being able to fully understand what he experienced.

Hades was done in an interesting way. I didn’t really understand why they were just on a beach. Odysseus’ Katabasis was originally a solo journey to Hades as it was not a place one could easily come and go from. Instead here the whole crew came with him, making it a lot less personal of an experience and diminishing the accomplishment it is for one to return from the dead.

The film also replaces Elphenor with Sinon. Either way a character is there asking Odysseus to honor their bodies, which is an important message and callback to the Greek virtue of honoring the dead properly especially in war. I don’t understand the omission of his encounter with his mother, Anticleia. This, while not central to the plot, does show just how long he was gone for and all that he’s missed at home. For a man whose family is everything, facing his mother who died missing him only fueled his need to return home so not to miss anything else. He tries to hug her thrice after hearing how unhappy she is in the underworld, realizing just how bleak it is and how the dead are unfeeling and untouchable after life. This shows the beautifully heartbreaking reality of death in Homeric Greek.

The encounter with Tiresias is well done in this film, he relays the prophecy to Odysseus after receiving a sacrifice and drinking the blood. Nolan also doesn’t include Achilles nor Heracles, which isn’t fully necessary either, they just emphasize the depressing nature of afterlife. Further explaining how death works in ancient culture and how even the greatest hero’s are regarded as nothing more than shades once they die.

The scene in the movie, while visually appealing, lost all of the emotion that was to be created in this scene. This journey was not easy and Odysseus was not guaranteed to return, however it was meant to be a pivotal moment for his character. Here he realized he did not want to end up dead like them in the underworld and he would do everything he could to get home, even if that meant sacrificing the entirety of his crew. He realized he was no longer the same man he was when he left 20 years ago, shaped by war and loss. His exchange with Sinon was nice and added depth to some characters, however neither Sinon nor Antinocus were central enough to the plot that they really needed an established backstory enough to remove his encounter with his mother.

The running away from his descended crew also felt unnatural. The dead were not vengeful in Greek custom, they were merely trapped, especially those lost at war, not regarded as much more than a body.

Schylla and Charybis’ scenes were well done, while short I think given the nature of the original story this is fine and still gave what it needed to.

My last plot point that could have been included is Odysseus’ final encounter with Poseidon. In the film he just surrenders to the ocean letting the raft get destroyed and ends up back in Ithaca. However this removes a large portion of the plot and the notion of needing community and assistance that is so pivotal to Greek culture. First of all he is guided by the stars. The heavens and constellations guided sailors and farmers for years, showing them how to do things long before modern technology. He knew which star would lead him home and followed it for 17 days.

From then he is supposed to be gifted a Devine veil from the sea goddess Ino. I don’t understand the reason for removing all of the gods from this film. But even this minor goddess still played a pivotal role in Odysseus returning home. She found him and told him to use her gift to help him stay alive no matter what Poseidon threw at him. He also completely avoided washing up on Scheria all together. Here he is supposed to be found by the princess after swimming for two days, assisted by the veil, and washing ashore. There she sneaks him inside and here is where he relays his journey, not to Calypso. After this the king and queen exude Xenia (not Zeus’ law) and give him food and shelter until he can get back on his feet. Then give him supplies and a crew to finish his journey home.

None of these scenes are necessarily pivotal to the plot, but they do showcase how Odysseus did not complete this journey on his own. The film made his character seem very insolar. Like he didn’t need anything or anything but his own strength. Yet in the original retelling it takes a village for him to return home. The gods, his crew and even others on various islands give him help and advice allowing him to reach Ithaca alive. Being told as a story that was sung aloud for years, the emphasis of community was vital to its survival over time. This film simply centered on one man and his own goals and actions fueled by grief and devotion alone.

The biggest issue I had with this film was the exclusion of any sort of gods or magic. It felt like Nolan took a movie about a fantastical world and made it into a historical drama. Aside from Circe’s transformation, none of these gods really played any role in the film at all. Athena was kind of just there. Poseidon was mentioned but was merely just waves and storm. Hermes was omitted completely, though he was to give Odysseus a gift to help him survive Circe, and Zeus felt like he was just supposed to be a reflection of the Christian God.

In ancient culture the gods don’t control things they are things. So removing them from the film entirely changes the entire narrative and kills the culture the original story held. Respect and devotion to the gods was the only way Odysseus could have completed his journey. He had to appease them and show that he was faithful in order for them to allow him to go home. The story begins with them debating if he is worthy enough to be relseased from Calypso’s hold and allowed to return home. Athena has to convince them that he is so that Zeus with protect him from his brother’s rage. Poseidon, while the most prominent god, still felt far removed. The sea was the main obstacle here, yet it felt like it wasn’t a god that deserved respect but just something in the way. The gods felt more like an afterthought than Devine guides. Odysseus never had to appease them, and since Athena played a very little role, it never showed just how much they had control over the series of events that happened. Magic was such a deep rooted piece of this journey and almost none of it made the Final Cut.

I am not one who has much experience with religion, but this overall seemed like a very Christian westernized depiction of the Odyssey. Aside from a majority of the characters being white, which is something that would likely not be true given the geography of the region, they also treated the Greek gods like the Christian God. Zeus seemed to be the only one who was given a name and any respect, opting for a monotheistic approach, even dubbing their way of living Zeus’ law. (This notion of respecting one’s home and guests is called Xenia). But it felt like they were implying that the reason for this was because no one knows if God was amongst them, whereas Greek gods didn’t walk amongst mortals in the same way. They were the personification of everything, not necessarily people who were deified. It minimized the pantheon of Greek gods and focused on one, while also instilling the Christian view of guilt and mercy and having to repay your wrongdoings. Even Eurylocus telling Odysseus to pray towards the end and ask for forgiveness is not how that would have worked, they did not pray to the gods for forgiveness but instead for help and guidance. Prayer was also done in a sacred space with offerings and purpose. Most of Greek worship was done to assist oneself, whereas here it was instilled to mirror biblical worship ideals.

The film also portrays Odysseus as a forgivable character who is burdened by fate, instead of a trickster character whose own mistakes lead to his demise. He is traumatized and simply wants peace after feeling guilty after the bloodshed of war. For this reason I can also assume they omitted and scenes including Odysseus’s affairs with Calypso and Circe. Odysseus was to be revered as a Moses adjacent hero whose faults were merely a matter of bad luck. It also felt like the notion of the people falling away from worshipping Zeus’s law was a commentary on people straying from believing in the Christian God and thus causing them to become greedy and corrupt.

It also is true with almost every depiction of the ancient world aside from Egypt, but the use of POC was very sparse. It as been long debated over time what skin tone Odysseus would have had given most of the characters in the story would have had lots of sun exposure and it was not uncommon for people to travel form various places including Africa and the Middle East, leading to a lot of mixing of cultures and races, though races was much different back then than it is now. Nolan’s central characters, aside from Eurylocus, were all visibly white. Which is fine and nothing new, however all of the non white characters were very one dimensional and also the most morally ambiguous. Eurylocus betrayed Odysseus and led the crew against him. Helen was the source of the war. Corey Hawkins’ character, one of the suitors second to Antinous, was outwardly brutish and stepped on Argus, forcing Pattison’s character to cover for his virtue. None of them were redeemable, and as aforementioned it seemed like a sort of push for inclusion that wasn’t necessarily done with the most genuine intent. It would have been nice to see a true representation of all of the various people who existed in the Mediterranean instead of a crew that all looked relatively the same.

I also will never forgive Nolan for dismissing the costume designer who would have given period accurate costuming because Homeric era armor would have looked amazing on screen, though it may have clashed with Nolan’s dark aesthetic. The whole of the set was very dull in color, much in contrast to what it would have actually looked like at the time. Most Greek palaces, armor, shields and statues were painted in bright colors and adorned in gold, most of which just isn’t shown now due to time. (Ex at the end)

The final thing I wanted to comment on is the dialogue. While I understand the film being in English, they had enough well trained and seasoned actors they could have done accent training at least. The Greek accent wasn’t necessary but would have been cool to hear. Aside from that the way they spoke somewhat took me out of the story at times. Odysseus’ use of profanities seemed out of place. Many were commenting on the use of “dad” via Telemachus, but I actually appreciated that inclusion. It made him feel like a son finally able to reconnect with his father and excited to help him out. Father feels too formal here. Aside from that it just feels like I’m watching a movie that’s supposed to be set in Ancient Greece, which in that sense it works!

I also don’t understand why Odysseus was exiled, that seemed counterproductive to the rest of the story as he was trying so hard to return home and to save his kingdom. I understand the natural consequence, but that didn’t seem necessary.

Final thought is I think that Nolan’s filmmaking style may just not be the best adaptation of this story, but it did many things very well. For someone who doesn’t know a whole lot about the odyssey or simply wants to enjoy the film it is amazing and I will give him so much praise for the amount of effort and dedication the film clearly took. However I think it removed all aspects of fun and whimsy from a story that is full of it. With no magic, barely any gods, not much color and way too much focus on the Trojan war (cause why did they spend like 10 mins trying to move that horse that isn’t even in the Odyssey) it kind of lost its original charm.

Good morning (I honestly typed afternoon because I'm so used to posting later), book lovers and bookish bats! I grew up loving Greek mythology, how broad and detailed it was, how the stories seemed to compound and affect one another. I wanted to know everything I could about the goddesses, thought Zeus was the absolute worst, and was more curious about the minute details regarding the Trojan War (and, let's be honest, the women involved) than the war itself. If you've ever felt the same way, or are simply excited to watch The Odyssey, remember: there's always a book that did it better. ⚔️

What is your favorite bit of Greek mythology or history?❓

Here are a few books to read after watching The Odyssey. As always, remember there are so many amazing books out there -- if you think I missed one that belongs on this list, shout it out! ❗What would you recommend people read after watching The Odyssey?❓

Happy reading, book lovers and bookish bats! I'll meet you in the comments. 💜