The translator cited by Christopher Nolan as an influence on his film adaptation of The Odyssey has released a scathing review of the action fantasy movie, saying that she “would be ashamed to have written any part” of the script.
Emily Wilson, whose 2017 translation of Homer’s epic poem was praised by Nolan, blasted his film in the London Review of Books.
Wilson pointed out the many ways in which the blockbuster deviates from the original ancient Greek poem and argued that the adaptation lacks “psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth.”
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“I had hoped that Nolan’s affinity with these Homeric themes might push him to new creative heights, and enable him to conjure more believable characters. But The Odyssey features his usual combination of grandiosity and superficiality,” her review reads.
The story follows the long and perilous journey home of Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca (Matt Damon), after the Trojan War as he attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea and reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway).
Nolan’s film has an ensemble cast that also includes Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron.
Image credits: IMDb
The translator wrote that Nolan’s version is “too confused” and that its characters are “too underdeveloped” to convey the themes of the original poem.
She added, “Nolan’s Odyssey lacks many of the elements that make the poem great. It has nothing convincing to say about time, memory, history, war, or about the relationship between one warrior’s glorious return and the lives of his family, adversaries, comrades, friends and neighbors.
“It lacks psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth. Its narrative structure is gimmicky. The writing is abysmal. None of the characters has convincing motivation for their actions or words. There are no s*x scenes, and all the food looks horrible.”
Image credits: University of Pennsylvania
During the press tour for the movie, the British filmmaker told Empire magazine that he used the opening line of Wilson’s translation (“Tell me about a complicated man”) as inspiration for bringing Odysseus to life.
In her review, the author and professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania acknowledges the director’s praise but states, “I would be ashamed to have written any part of this script. Sadly, Damon’s Odysseus isn’t complicated or wily or artful.”
Wilson argues that, unlike the hero in Homer’s poem, Nolan’s Odysseus lacks technological intelligence (polymēchania). The translator cites several scenes to support her point.
Image credits: University of Pennsylvania
“He does not build a marriage bed out of a tree growing in his house (it would be a waste of effort, since he so rarely seems to sleep or have s*x).
“The raft on which he escapes from Calypso is cobbled together from a few bits of driftwood (in contrast to the elaborate wood-chopping and shipbuilding in Homer).”
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Moreover, the professor criticized the design of the famous Trojan Horse, suggesting that it exposed a key omission by the acclaimed director.
“We don’t see the design or construction of the Trojan Horse; instead, a kitsch, poorly designed horse (with no wheels) appears on the windswept beach as if dumped there by drone.
“The difficulties of transporting large, unwieldy objects over difficult terrain must have been on the director’s mind as he lugged his IMAX cameras through the film’s many challenging locations.”
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The classicist also took aim at the film’s depiction of the female characters, arguing that it was far more superficial than in Homer’s epic poem.
She said Hathaway’s Penelope has no dreams of her own, and that her existence appears to be reduced to yearning for her husband.
Image credits: BBC Radio 1
“The script gives her nothing to do except yearn for Matt Damon, for reasons unknown. The couple have no chemistry and nothing in common.
“There are more female characters than in most Nolan movies, thanks to the source material. But none of them has much to say, in contrast to the characterisations in the poem.”
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She also wrote that Charlize Theron’s Calypso, a nymph who tries to entice Odysseus to live as her husband by promising him immortality, “looks gorgeous, but she is never angry, never funny, not skilled in rhetoric, and never consumed by lust for her scraggly mortal victim.”
Elsewhere in her review, Wilson discussed the film’s racial diversity, highlighting the examples of actors such as Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Himesh Patel, Corey Antonio Hawkins, and Travis Scott.
However, she argued that there is “nothing progressive” about the characters they portray, as most of them “play versions of the Black best friend, whose only role in the drama is to provide aid to the white protagonist.”
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Scott, who plays the Ithacan poet Phemius, “yells a few words and pounds a stick, but does not get to sing, tell a story or play the lyre.”
Nyong’o’s characters, Helen of Troy and her twin sister Clytemnestra, are “hugely underwritten,” with the Oscar-winning actress being given “only a few minutes of screen time,” Wilson wrote.
Image credits: Universal Pictures
Despite her criticism of Nolan’s film, Wilson acknowledged the impact it is having in sparking public interest in both ancient Greek literature and cinema.
“The release of The Odyssey is still an event to celebrate,” Wilson said.
“This epic is bringing audiences back to cinemas … translations of Odyssey, including mine, are flying off the shelves … [and] perhaps the film will persuade a few college administrators not to cut their literature, language and history departments.”
Image credits: IMDb
Both the box office and critics have enthusiastically welcomed Nolan’s latest film. According to Variety, the nearly three-hour movie earned $90 million domestically in its second weekend, making it one of the biggest box office successes of the year so far.
It currently holds a 94% score on the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes based on more than 400 critics’ reviews.
On IMDb, another review-aggregation website for films and TV shows, the movie currently has a 8.5/10 rating based on 266,000 user reviews.
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