If you've been reading my reviews for any length of time, you're likely already aware that I don't fancy myself a devotee of Christopher Nolan. It's not that I dislike his work, not at all. That would be foolish and lacking in anything resembling cinematic integrity. It's just, well, that I am The Independent Critic and I do fancy myself a devotee of low-budget indie world where films are often made by the sweat of a filmmaker's brow and with not much more than a maxed out credit card.
The Odyssey wasn't made on a credit card budget.
So, I shall acknowledge both my surprise and relief to be saying that The Odyssey is my favorite Nolan film to date. And yes, I'll openly acknowledge preferring it over The Dark Knight, a film I continue to firmly believe wouldn't get near the love without Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning performance as The Joker.
For me, a Nolan film is more often than not a good film in search of greatness. The Odyssey is, in fact, a great film and perhaps this generation's defining epic. Working from translations of Homer's epic poem, Nolan's The Odyssey is a tapestry of historical storytelling and cinematic Nolanisms that work far better than I ever expected.
Considering all the moving parts in this just under three-hour epic, it's helpful to have some familiar with at least the basic story framework of The Odyssey. In my day, you could have picked up Cliff's Notes, though I'm fairly sure Cliff is dead now. Heck, these days you can just check out the Wikipedia page and hope for something resembling accuracy.
The story is really relatively straight forward. Odysseus, played by a seldom if ever better Matt Damon, is trying to return home to his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), after the Trojan War. As we are to learn, there's no easy journey to be had. It begins with the widely spread belief that Odysseus is not actually dead, a battle for his throne ensuing even as Odysseus is doing all he can to return.
The Odyssey, for those unaware, is Nolan's follow-up to 2023's multiple Oscar-winning Oppenheimer. While Oppenheimer was certainly a good enough film, its Best Picture win felt more like a lifetime achievement award. The Odyssey, on the other hand, is destined to be mentioned often during awards season and deservedly so. Utilizing an almost entirely A-list cast, Nolan snags A-list performances from nearly all of them while making the film the first ever to be shot entirely on IMAX 70mm cameras.
Everything that has ever bothered me about a Nolan film is a non-issue here. In every sense of the word, Nolan creates one of this generation's most memorable epics with a scale that is gasp-inducing and action sequences that are visually hypnotic and choreographed to sublime perfection. While I don't quite agree with those who feel like Nolan's films are often devoid of emotional resonance, I'm also willing to say that The Odyssey is as emotionally compelling as it is visually. Odysseus is the core character for sure, however, Nolan immerses us in narrative thread after narrative thread and character after character. At just under three hours, I'd have easily stayed another hour in this world and I've seldom said that about any film before and certainly not a Nolan film. I remember studying The Odyssey in high school, but it was nothing like this version of The Odyssey. Compared to this version, that version of The Odyssey feels, well, quaint.
The creation of Polyphemus is masterful. If you don't know the character, you will. Nolan gives us an amplified sense of terror, setting aside certain aspects of Homer's tale that I'd have loved to have seen here but still giving us a creature that is both terrifying yet richly human in deep, powerful ways. The scene in Polyphemus' cave stays with me still. The same is true for the presence of Circe, played horrifyingly by the brilliant Samantha Morton.
It's hard to pinpoint specific performances in this massive ensemble. As noted, Damon has seldom if ever been better but is still often outshined by the absolute sizzling precision of Anne Hathaway's Penelope. Himesh Patel is terrific as Eurylochus. Lupita Nyong'o takes a couple of onscreen minutes as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra and absolutely owns them. Perhaps the best surprise is Benny Safdie, yes that Safdie, as Agamemnon.
There are A-listers who only get a few minutes, yet I remember their performancs vividly. Zendaya has impressive moments. Robert Pattinson, as Antinous, is classically smarmy and fiercely memorable. Elliott Page also has his meatiest role in years and 100% takes advantage of it. Fresh off a career best in Bob Trevino Likes It, John Leguizamo absolutely kills it as Eumaeus.
The Odyssey best benefits from the biggest screen possible. My hometown of Indianapolis has one of only 25 true IMAX screens in the country, and I'm not sure I've ever been so grateful for that fact. However, even on a smaller or more traditional screen this is a film to see in a movie theater.
D.P. Hoyte van Hoytema does his usual reliable work, though this film demands a terrific technical ensemble and gets it with Jennifer Lame's remarkable editing work, Ruth De Jong's stellar production design, Ellen Mirojnick's costume design and so much more including yet another brilliant and destined to be remembered original score from Ludwig Göransson. This is a different kind of score for Göransson, and yet it's an absolute stunner alongside this epic storytelling.
There's more to be said. There's more to be felt. There's more to be heard. There's more to be understood. There's a reason that Homer's The Odyssey is still studied centuries after its creation. Nolan's The Odyssey is about to bring it vividly to life to an entirely new generation.
Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic
