After he conquered the Oscars with Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan looked to the ancient past to slay his next filmmaking giant. His target was the Greek poet Homer and his legendary epic about a fate-filled journey home. Facing unreasonably high post-Oscar expectations and entrusted with a famously difficult-to-adapt story, Nolan nevertheless defied the odds (and the gods) with The Odyssey, adding yet another masterwork of epic filmmaking to his unrivaled resume.
The Odyssey is a fantastical saga rooted in Greek mythology, but Nolan wisely brings a grounded approach to the source material, emphasizing the human emotions behind the otherworldly story. At the center is Odysseus, the long-suffering king of Ithaca who is desperate to return home following the Trojan War. Matt Damon, as Odysseus, delivers what may be the greatest performance of his career here, embodying the wandering king’s physical might and cunning mind, while also capturing his tormented inner life.
Damon’s on-screen prowess is matched by fellow Nolan regular Anne Hathaway, who portrays Odysseus’ wife Penelope with a powerful mixture of poise, cleverness and righteous fury. The rest of the cast is stacked with A-list talent, but among the many standouts are John Leguizamo as the blind servant Eumaeus, Samantha Morton as the beguiling sorceress Circe and Robert Pattinson as the smarmy, smooth-talking suitor Antinous.
This is just a handful of the dozens of characters who drift in and out of the film, which unfolds via shifting timelines and a circuitous narrative that nestles stories within stories. Nolan juggles it all with his signature mastery of sight and sound, employing an elliptical editing style that reflects the rhythmic nature of Homer’s poem. It’s all in a day’s work for Nolan, who has often drawn inspiration from Homer by incorporating nonlinear plots, existential themes and morally conflicted protagonists into his films. With The Odyssey, Nolan went back to the source of these Homeric hallmarks and, in so doing, embarked on a cinematic homecoming of his own.
