Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey will change cinema forever

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is a watershed moment for filmmaking, re-introducing this legendary story to the masses courtesy of quite possibly the only modern director who has the ambition and guts to do it.

And done it, Nolan has. Make no bones about it: The Odyssey is a remarkable film, and quite a monumental achievement. 

It also boasts one of the most A-list ensemble casts seen in a movie in years – Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o and Samantha Morton (just for starters) – but even featuring the star power of such a large percentage of Hollywood’s top players doesn’t overshadow the piece as a whole.

The Odyssey has that trademark Nolan look and feel, alongside an examination of the interior and a man’s struggle – themes found in much of his past work – while being firmly placed in an ancient, mythological setting he’s never explored before. It’s somehow both the most Nolan-esque film I’ve seen while being nothing like Oppenheimer, Inception or anything he’s previously made.

Its special effects are also so well judged, remaining grounded in reality but still just as compelling as they usually are, without overwhelming the story either.

The Odyssey, Homer’s epic poem, is a bedrock of western literature that Nolan is bringing to a more sceptical, modern audience, thousands of years later, offering a more palatable take on the mythology and fantastical elements. It’s perfectly judged in that regard.

Having some awareness of the story of Odysseus (here played by movie star Damon, in a true actor’s role) probably does increase enjoyment slightly, because then you can really appreciate the way Nolan has adapted it, shaped it, and – yes – added to it. Some omissions are made, as expected, but the film still honours and is faithful to the spirit of Homer’s Odyssey.

Nolan reframes and tailors sections to focus on Odysseus’s ten-year quest to return home from the Trojan War, as well as his experiences at the end of that conflict. Alongside this, he brings the struggles of the Ithacan king’s wife, Penelope (Hathaway), and son, Telemachus (Holland), in his absence to the fore. 

However, The Odyssey is known as a universal tale for a reason; it’s utterly gripping and this version will convert new classics fans immediately on its own merits too. Nolan manages to reassert both the humanity and brutality of this story to bring something truly timeless to the big screen.

This is particularly evident in his approach to the Greek gods, who are central to the story as Homer told it. Nolan has managed to honour that in a clever, visceral sense, while offering a particularly moving pay-off to Zendaya’s portrayal of Athena, who makes embodying a goddess look easy.

Pearls have been clutched over the modern language in the film, but other than a slightly jarring mention of ‘mom’ and ‘dad’, it does actually work, still pulling you into this world, in ‘a time of apparent magic’, with ease. And as its characters remind you, Zeus’s law – the hospitality that you must offer to strangers – is still the fundamental lesson that drives the story, classicists will be relieved to hear. 

Damon is very good as Odysseus, a Greek hero famously described as wily, cunning – and complicated. That makes for a meaty dream role for an actor, especially with Nolan able to emphasise a soldier’s PTSD and how it informs their behaviour. Some were unconvinced by his casting, but he offers a solid central performance to pin everything on. However, others truly excel: Hathaway as the frustrated but fiery Penelope (unleashing the power of her trembling chin acting once more), Holland as the headstrong Telemachus, and Pattinson having the most fun of anyone, channelling a little welcome panto, as sneering suitor Antinous.

Morton is also a standout as sorceress Circe – it’s no wonder she got that spontaneous on set standing ovation – while Himesh Patel proves himself a worthy key player as Odysseus’s lieutenant Eurylochus, and Elliot Page is gifted a juicy invented backstory with Pattinson’s Antinous as Sinon, a character ported in from Virgil’s Aeneid. 

Nolan isn’t afraid to pull cultural references to Troy outside of Homer into his movie, most boldly demonstrated with Helen of Troy’s (Nyong’o) fate, and the pointed inclusion of Christopher Marlowe’s famous 17th-century quote ‘the face that launched a thousand ships’. There will be backlash to this moment, as well as the fact that neither Nyong’o – even with her dual role as Helen’s half-sister Clytemnestra – nor Charlize Theron as Calypso are given that much to do. Some of Nolan’s most heavy tinkering is evident with Theron’s sea nymph character as well, but I can understand the intent when it comes to the wider story.

The Odyssey’s sound design and music – from returning Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson – are interwoven and highly immersive. This is especially well done during Odysseus and his men’s terrifying encounter with the Cyclops (Bill Irwin). It’s a raw and less orchestral soundtrack than most films, which fits well with the age of oral storytelling – personified here by Travis Scott’s Bard, who takes the film’s opening lines.

Perils of Odysseus’s adventures include cannibalism, monsters, a whirlpool, a trip to the Underworld and witchcraft that transforms men into pigs in a truly grotesque way – there’s really something for everyone! All the while, Penelope is holding off the suitors thirsting after her husband’s throne, while Telemachus sets off on his own journey to find word of his father beyond Ithaca. You can’t really give writer-director Nolan the credit for such a rich story, but you can praise him for how he’s telling it: the glimpses at the fantastical, the grounding in reality, the focus on the human reaction.

He also keeps you guessing, even if you know The Odyssey, with how it’s all going to end.

It feels like there will be a ‘before The Odyssey’ and ‘after The Odyssey’ line drawn in cinema now, given how this film is going to relaunch interest in Greek mythology from a mainstream audience. 

This is also true because it feels akin to the Harry Potter franchise in terms of its cultural significance and the impact it will have on films and beyond. And then add to that Nolan’s reshaping of modern moviemaking and what feels possible with his vision on The Odyssey… that’s no mean feat to have accomplished. In fact it’s pretty awe-inspiring. And Nolan and his team didn’t blink in the face of that challenge. 

The Odyssey is in cinemas from Friday, July 17.