Did we learn nothing from Barbie?
‘The Odyssey…now with even more unnecessary negative hype’ could have easily been the title of this review. The very right wing factions of this world had already branded this movie as a flop, a woke travesty of a timeless piece of classic literature. And to be totally fair, there was plenty of doubt to be cast (pun intended).
I know for a fact that there are many people who skipped The Odyssey opening weekend. In truth, I nearly did. I was not in a hurry to subject myself to nearly three hours of what I had every right to suspect would be a ‘new-age reimagining’ of a society that died out long ago. But such is my dedication to doing this review. It needed to be done. And going to see Barbie taught me that pre-release chatter can often be wrong. Never too old to learn.
Two movies for the price of one
Christopher Nolan’s adaptation (based on a modern feminist telling of Homer’s Odyssey) is full of both fantasy and human avarice. Brave warriors sail the oceans, battling all manner of mythical creatures while others navigate the no-less deadly waters of the corrupted hearts of man. There are literally two separate movies that masterfully dovetail into a finale that was most satisfying. No spoilers from me, but if you have ever read The Odyssey (I haven’t but we’ve all seen it in pieces, haven’t we?) then you know how it ends.
So, let’s address the ‘hype’
In first few minutes of The Odyssey, the whole Elliot Page controversy is clarified. Page did not portray Achilles, but an Ithacan soldier named Sinon. Sinon is a character that never appears in any of Homer’s works, but in Virgil’s poem The Aeneid. Sinon is left behind after the apparent withdrawal of the Greek army at Troy. His job was to convince the Trojans that the giant horse was a gift to Athena as an appeasement. The soldiers, believing Sinon’s lie, dragged the horse inside the walls of Troy. The rest is literary history.
Sinon did reappear briefly later in the movie. But overall, Page’s screentime was maybe 4 minutes? And zero battle scenes. None. Nolan was clearly wise enough to not have this tiny warrior actually fight anyone. I think Christopher Nolan knew what he was doing with this casting choice and it might just make him brilliant.* (see my post review comments)
The second elephant in the room
Moving on, we look at the second right-wing clutching of their pearls…the casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy. Race swapping her from a classic Greek beauty to an African beauty was, of course, a capitulation to current (and waning) Hollywood sensibilities.
Was it a smart choice? Eh, I don’t think so but I’m kind of done second guessing Nolan on these decisions. Again, you’ll see what I mean in the post. Enough to say that Nyong’o’s** screentime was even less that Page’s. That is to say…nearly non-existent and even less impactful to the overall story. Her acting talents never had a chance to shine and her part could literally have been played by anyone. So, the decision to use a big name and race swap the character can have no other explanation other than box-checking.
Lots of big names with little or nothing to do
If you are sensing a theme here, you’re not wrong. There are a whole bunch of names in The Odyssey that had a tiny amount of screentime. Much smaller than we were expecting. Jon Bernthal had a couple of scenes, only a few lines. Charlize Theron had a comparatively larger role but honestly, could have been played by anyone. And honestly, her performance was pretty bland. Zendaya’s turn as Athena might be a bit on-the-nose, as her current Hollywood cache as a beauty is second only to Sydney Sweeney (oh but how the tongues would have wagged if he had cast her). None-the-less, Zendaya did a fine job in her limited screentime.
It’s not nit-picking
If I’m being honest with you, I thought Tom Holland was a mis-casting, also borne of name recognition. His emotional range is fairly limited, from what I’ve seen. Matt Damon was fine, I guess. But nothing deserving any kind of nominations. I would probably give Anne Hathaway a nod for her role as Penelope (and she’ll probably get it, is my guess). John Leguizamo was good as well. As was Samantha Morton as Circe the witch. Pattinson was suitably villainous.So yeah, there were some really good casting choices. But it is super clear that Nolan was stuffing The Odyssey with as much star power as he could in an effort to create a bona-fide blockbuster. And judging from our packed theater, he scored.
The Odyssey was a success
I’m happy to be able to give The Odyssey a rousing 3.9 our of 5. There aren’t very many 3.9 movies in the Average Dude’s annual watch list. And the Odyssey definitely isn’t one of them. But it is a perfectly serviceable watch. Yes, it was the usual Chris Nolan slow-burn (but not as much as Oppenheimer, that’s a fact). The pacing and mix of political intrigue and fantasy action was well done. This three hours did not feel like it was dragging and I may rewatch it again someday. But not soon.
And to be completely honest, there is a wee bit of a slam to the patriarchy and a sense of feminist scorn, as if women of that age often lamented their place in that world. Right.
So, if you can put aside your preconceived opinions, you might find yourself enjoying the Odyssey. Did it have too many stars with not enough to do? Sure. Will it actually hinder Nolan’s bid for a second Best Picture Oscar? Time will tell. .
*I watched Michael Knowles review of The Odyssey. He backs his opinion with a much deeper knowledge of the source material than most of us (read your Average Viewer) possesses. He pointed out that, in the Aeneid, Sinon was cast into the lowest level of hades for being a deceiver, a fraudster. I am wondering it that casting wasn’t actually by Nolan’s design. If so, he successfully trolled the whole world, both sides of that particular argument. And if it WAS by design, that would make Christopher Nolan brilliant.
**That is the first time I’ve ever had to add an apostrophe twice in the same word.
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