ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
When it comes to modern filmmaking and storytelling, one of my favorite directors is Christopher Nolan, whose work I was technically introduced to back when I was in high school with “The Dark Knight,” which remains one of my favorite movies to this day.
Since then, I’ve followed his films off and on, and when I heard a couple years ago he would be taking on adapting Homer’s “The Odyssey,” I became VERY excited, especially when the teaser trailer was finally released with “Jurassic World Rebirth.” For those who might not know, the story takes place shortly after the end of the Trojan War and follows Greek general Odysseus (Matt Damon), the king of Ithaca, as he undergoes a long and perilous journey home and encounters mythical beings as he attempts to reunite with his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland).
Not that I doubted it for “The Odyssey,” but Nolan has proven he definitely knows how to cast a film. Matt Damon does a great job as Odysseus, and he really captures that mood of “I have been trying to get home for YEARS to my family, AND I AM OVER IT!” Damon does a great job capturing Odysseus’ exhaustion and suffering so, so well, and it ends up being a solid performance – so much so, I would be completely unsurprised to see him get some recognition come next awards season. Anne Hathaway is also fantastic as the film’s leading lady, Queen Penelope, and captures her exhaustion of waiting for Odysseus to come back after so long while also being surprisingly cold and fierce toward everyone else. Another particular standout for me was Robert Pattinson as the film’s leading villain, Antinous, who spends a lot of the film trying to convince Penelope to marry him out of all the other suitors. Pattinson makes the character so gross and despicable and made me want to give him a good smack across the face, and he’s another one I could see getting some recognition come next awards season. I also noticed all of the side characters were also really well cast, so as I said before, Nolan proves he knew who he wanted to be part of this project.
The movie’s VFX crew also did an amazing job and definitely deserve a shoutout. Nolan isn’t really known as a horror director per se, but he definitely wasn’t afraid to lean into the more horror elements of the story, especially in one scene when Odysseus and his army are trapped in a cave with a man-eating cyclops (and fair warning, some man-eating is shown in all its gory glory). Another scene that shows that is the scene when Odysseus’ army comes against sorceress Circe and get transformed into pigs – it’s a painful scene to take in both visually and with the sound design, and the end result was amazing. Nolan also wasn’t afraid to lean into the blood and gore in the battle scenes, particularly in the Trojan War flashbacks, and I absolutely loved it all. The cinematography is also outstanding throughout the entire movie, and every set piece is absolutely gorgeous. Overall, the film’s VFX crew did an amazing job and definitely deserve some recognition.
Ludwig Göransson was the composer for the movie, and he does an absolutely amazing job with the score. The music fits the movie like a glove, especially during the climactic fight scene near the end, and it ends up setting the mood throughout the entire movie. I would not be surprised if he gets at least some recognition for his work.
Christopher Nolan definitely had a vision for this movie, and it definitely came together for him in a fantastic way – so much so, I honestly don’t know if any other modern director would have been able to pull this movie off at this scale. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets some recognition come the next awards season, though I will say he either should have shaved the movie’s runtime a little bit or taken the risk of putting his adaptation together as a short miniseries for a streaming service or something similar. Overall, however, Nolan still knows how to put together an epic film and tell a good story for moviegoers.
Overall, I very much enjoyed “The Odyssey” and would give it a solid “A” grade. The entire cast is fantastic, especially Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway in the leading roles and Robert Pattinson as the film’s main villain. Nolan and the effects crews also did a great job making everything look amazing, and I definitely liked how there wasn’t really any holding back in terms of the more horror aspects of the story. I also thought the music and sound design were well done, and Nolan definitely deserves at least another nomination for Best Director come the next awards season. If you’re a fan of any of Christopher Nolan’s other filmography or “The Odyssey” in general, his adaptation is definitely one to check out.
