Epic in every single way that counts, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey looks, feels, and sounds like the triumphant return of event movies to theatres.
And what a return to form it is, unlike Nolan's unfortunate protagonist Odysseus (Matt Damon). After his feats and cunning won the Trojan War for the Greeks, Odysseus sets off to return home after 10 years abroad. Jaded and with a misotheistic streak, Odysseus wants nothing more than to go back to the arms of his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and behold his young son Telemachus (who grows up to be Tom Holland), the gods be damned.
But it's the gods who do the damning, as Odysseus and his crew are cursed to face dangers both mythical and physical, with no hope of returning home. But return home he must, because Odysseus' kingdom Ithaca has seen decades without a king, and now Penelope is faced with dozens of ribald suitors like Antinous (Robert Pattinson) hoping to claim the throne.
The Odyssey is a strong contender for Christopher Nolan's magnum opus, finally fulfilling his dream of shooting an entire movie using IMAX cameras. It's the perfect tool for Nolan's fastidious brand of direction, giving every inch of the movie's almost 3-hour runtime a heaping of grandiosity—as well as grit. The high definition magnifies every pore, every flaw, every sinew that it often feels nauseating.
Same goes with The Odyssey's sound design. When a scene is loud, it's loud—one scene in particular, when Odyssus and his crew are caught in a freak storm, cranks the decibels in every scream and every thunderclap that you quite literally fear for your life like the men in that storm. I almost expected saltwater to spray my face too. Given Nolan's penchant for tweaking sound in his movies for immersion rather than comprehension, this is not unprecedented.
It made me appreciate the not-so-loud parts. The Odyssey is a surprisingly straightforward adaptation; all the Cliff Notes I remember from Homer's epic is ticked off—the Cyclops, Circe and the pigs, the run between Charybdis and Scylla—with Nolan's signature eye for cinema. The movie also dips into a lot of genres, from historical drama, fantasy, to even horror, while still maintaining a cohesive whole. Coupled with gorgeous production design and Ludwig Göransson's hauntingly ancient score, The Odyssey is more than the sum of its parts.
An epic as sprawling as this deserves a cast the rises to the occasion. Matt Damon silences critics as Odysseus, able to go from heartaching Dad to Jason Bow-rne with ease. Same goes for Anne Hathaway's Penelope, who nails the queen's despair over her husband's fate while still commanding the room. Even surprising castings like John Leguizamo as Eumaeus adds interesting wrinkles to this tapestry despite minimal screentime. But it's Robert Pattinson who unsurprisingly steals the spotlight as Antinous, one of Penelope's suitors. Pattinson goes all-in on the craven and manipulative villainy, making every scene he's in wildly entertaining to watch.
A lot has been said about Nolan's choice to use Americanized, colloquial English for the script (Tom Holland's Telemachus calling Odysseus his "Dad" the most egregious example) but it's the least of the movie's miniscule flaws. If anything, The Odyssey could use some trimming down of its almost 3-hour runtime, even if there's nary a lull in between. Sometimes, too much epic can get ponderous.
Few filmmakers could ask audiences to follow them on a journey this massive, but Christopher Nolan has earned that goodwill, and The Odyssey proves why. Panoramic, magnificent, but still painfully human, The Odyssey as a cinematic achievement will be hard to beat.
Posts
0 Comments