Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has emerged as one of the biggest box office successes of the year. While the film has been celebrated by moviegoers and continues to perform strongly in theatres, one person whose opinion carries particular weight has been far less impressed.
Emily Wilson, the classicist whose acclaimed 2017 translation of Homer’s Odyssey was cited by Nolan during the film’s early promotion, has delivered a strongly critical review of the adaptation.
Emily Wilson Says Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Lacks Depth
In an essay published in the London Review of Books, Wilson explained that she had expected Nolan’s interpretation of the ancient Greek epic to offer a more layered take on Homer’s themes but instead “it has nothing convincing to say” and that it “lacks psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth.”
She wrote, “I had hoped that Nolan’s affinity with these Homeric themes might push him to new creative heights, and enable him to conjure more believable characters. But The Odyssey features his usual combination of grandiosity and superficiality … the film’s vision is too confused, its characters too underdeveloped, to deliver what it half-promises in terms of big ideas – although it is very good at conveying big bangs and big giants.”
Wilson went on to argue that the film misses many of the qualities that have made Homer’s poem endure for centuries.
According to her, the adaptation “lacks many of the elements that make the poem great. It has nothing convincing to say about time, memory, history, war, or about the relationship between one warrior’s glorious return and the lives of his family, adversaries, comrades, friends and neighbours.”
“It lacks psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth. Its narrative structure is gimmicky,” she added.
‘Writing Is Abysmal’
Wilson reserved some of her strongest criticism for the screenplay itself. She wrote, “The writing is abysmal.”
She also said, “I would be ashamed to have written any part of this script.”
Expanding on her criticism, Wilson argued that the characters are not given “convincing motivation for their actions or words.”
She also remarked that the film contains no intimate moments between its central characters and even joked that the food shown on screen looked unappealing.
Emily Wilson Questions Emotional Connection With Characters
Wilson repeated many of her concerns during an interview with The Sunday Times where she said the film failed to resonate with her emotionally.
She said, “It didn’t land emotionally for me at all. Which I think is partly about the fact that, unlike Homer, it’s not very well written.”
Speaking about the characters, she added, “The characters don’t have the kind of depth the Homeric characters have. I felt, ‘Do I really care if this guy gets back to his wife?’ You haven’t given me any reason to.”
Wilson’s comments stand out because Nolan had previously praised the opening line of her English translation, “Tell me about a complicated man,” while discussing the inspirations behind his adaptation.
Emily Wilson Still Praised The Odyssey’s Cultural Impact
Despite her criticism of the screenplay, Wilson acknowledged that The Odyssey has had a positive effect beyond the box office.
She said the film has encouraged more people to return to cinemas and started renewed interest in Homer’s epic with different English translations, including her own. Wilson also suggested that the film could encourage universities to continue supporting literature, language and history programmes.
She concluded on a positive note by saying, “Nolan is doing his best to get the general public reading again, and I am grateful.”
The Odyssey: Cast
Directed by Nolan, The Odyssey stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, alongside Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, Jon Bernthal, Mia Goth, Elliot Page, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Samantha Morton, Corey Hawkins, Cosmo Jarvis, Will Yun Lee, Jesse Garcia, Nick E. Tarabay, Maurice Compte, Jimmy Gonzales, Shiloh Fernandez, Rafi Gavron, Iddo Goldberg, Michael Vlamis, Noah Jupe, Bill Irwin and Molly Parker.
