I’ve long thought that film ‘criticism’ — resistant to that term as I am — should be something that moviegoers seek out when craving an insight greater than that of what the average audience member can provide. I am here to tell you now that is not what this will be. Rather, this is the scattered ramblings of a man who’s now seen The Odyssey twice; once in the grand Mecca of Cinema: an IMAX theatre — and once projected in glorious 35mm. And having come out the other side a completely changed man (partially because I turned 23 in this time, but mostly because I truly feel as if Cinema has reached a new height), I find it difficult to put into words just how mammoth of an achievement this film really is, and how deeply it made me feel.
My first experience of this complete and utter feast for the senses was that of a total sensory overload. The size of the picture, the scale of the set pieces, the pure magic of what was unfolding in front of me, I really just couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing. Sequences that I’d only read about and imagined adapted in front of my very own eyes in the most immense of manner. How was this possible? But on second watch, in a less all-encompassing format — one that didn’t almost knock me out with the deafening sound of the Cyclops’ scream — I noticed and appreciated lots of the smaller things. I knew he could handle this scale, anybody capable of the technical mastery required to pull off the likes of Inception, Interstellar, and The Dark Knight is probably a steady choice to adapt an epic of this magnitude, but many times throughout my second watch, I found myself in awe of some of the more ‘standard’ filmmaking techniques on display.
Oftentimes throughout Nolan’s filmography, I’ve felt that traditional filmmaking — thoughtful blocking, exciting camera push-ins, unique shot composition etc. — has fallen to the wayside in service of his grand, sweeping spectacle, and that’s partially what’s made him so special and unique. But here, he finds a way to combine the grandest of grandeur with a homemade look and feel that truly plays like the culmination of what the medium has been building toward for over 100 years. Actors are gliding in and out of the frame in such a beautifully choreographed fashion that even the king of blocking, the great Steven Spielberg, would have no choice but to marvel at. Whilst Scorsese-esque dolly push-ins that put us up close and personal with the performers allow you to feel every bit of the weight of each striking moment to their fullest of effect.
But beyond that of its technical expertise, The Odyssey has a heart as large as Polyphemus himself racing at the centre. Once again Nolan is reckoning with his concerns about the world; the way we continue to destroy its beauty, the sacred bond between humans that’s been broken time and time again over the years, and perhaps how he’s contributed to this world that he inhabits. The result is what I believe to be his most personal effort yet, and a thematic extension of what’s interested him since Tenet: the idea of a ruinous invention. “One man’s trick”. Something that fundamentally changes the world forever, and certainly not for the better. In this instance, it’s the breaking of Zeus’ Law, in Oppenheimer it was, of course, the introduction of nuclear weapons, and in Tenet, time inversion technology. I’ve always enjoyed the reading that this thematic obsession is Nolan’s attempt at reckoning with the era of comic book movies that the success of The Dark Knight spawned — which may or may not be incredibly far-fetched — but whatever it is, I hope it continues to haunt him, because the result is his richest and best works to date.
Much was made of the ensemble cast in the lead-up to this movie’s release, and they ALL proved why that was the case through their staggering, movie star performances that more than held the weight of the Trojan Horse-sized expectations on their shoulders.
From Matt Damon’s leading portrayal of Odysseus to Travis Scott’s (lol) few moments of screen time as the Bard and absolutely everybody in between, above, and below, the performances are magnificent. But a particular mention needs to be made for Robert Pattinson, who is having just the absolute best of years, Samantha Morton, who has long been overlooked as one of the best working actors, and Himesh Patel, whom I had to explain to my mother was, in fact, the same man who once donned the specs of Tamwar Masood on BBC soap, EastEnders. He is an absolute shining light in this movie and deserves all the praise and work that is sure to come his way — starting with Ryan Coogler’s upcoming X-Files reboot.
The film acts, too, as Nolan’s boldest in terms of reaching an area furthest north from his comfort zone. With many a sequence that will immediately enter the pantheon of the greatest he’s ever constructed that lean much further into the world of horror than we’ve ever seen him reach before. From the Cyclops, to Hades, to Scylla and Charybdis, to the Laestrygonians, Nolan has never been ‘weirder’, and perhaps never better for it.
His ambition, drive, boldness, and unwavering desire to achieve something impossible is just so incredibly palpable, and I find it almost impossible to imagine anybody of sane mental state to read this as anything other than one of the biggest achievements the medium has seen this turn of the millennium, and one the great works from one of the great filmmakers — maybe the greatest of his time.
It’s truly just incredible that this really exists. I could go on and on and on for thousands more words on everything I love about The Odyssey, but why do that when I could just go see it again? In fact, as soon as this is published, I might go do that! I encourage you to do the same, because we are oh so fortunate to exist at a time when Christopher Nolan is making movies. Cherish that, engage with it, relish it and indulge yourself in all his greatness on the biggest screen you can find. I certainly shall be. A staggering work that's practicality, human touch, and anti-war message could not be more needed than it is right now in a world that faces a fight against artificial intelligence and leaders hell-bent on destroying all what’s sacred between our kind. In a world of complete and utter losers on the internet and on thrones held up by nothing but inflated egos, choose to be a Chris Nolan. Go see The Odyssey.