Christopher Nolan is the Stephen Spielberg of the twenty-first century. We all know this, yet the trailers for The Odyssey received a startling amount of push-back for someone who one would think had earned the trust of audiences. Most of this push-back was openly resentful of the casting of ethnic minorities in a movie that takes place in ancient Greece – despite the reality that actual ancient Greeks probably had darker skin, and ancient Greek society had plenty of people from Africa and the Middle East. In fact, the cast of the end-product is much whiter than the society in which this takes place. The truth is that this online push-back came from an immature sense of entitlement, specifically entitlement to call the shots and design the film as one imagines it. But, just like Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, we have to learn to give up our urge to have control before we fall into a sinking ship.
“Better than the book” is something that is rarely uttered about movies. This, especially for a text as immortal as Homer’s Odyssey. Perhaps “better” is not quite the right word, but at the very least, it is certainly “updated” for modern sensibilities while respecting the source material. Ancient Greek stories often prioritized masculinity as a virtue, and more contemporary virtues like mercy and compassion didn’t feature as often as they do today. There is nothing wrong with masculinity when it’s not toxic, but modern audiences will appreciate that this version of Odysseus can be vulnerable while also heroic, having emotional responses to the horrors he is witnessing and experiencing personal growth as a result. Odysseus’ character arc in this story is extremely compelling and is the highlight of what is otherwise a fantastic film.
