The Odyssey Left Me Scratching My Head

I love Greek mythology, and I have for a very long time. I’ve read The Iliad and The Odyssey, some other works like The Oresteia and Metamorphoses,retellings like The Song of Achilles and Circe, and I’ve read every single Percy Jackson book there is. I’ve studied ancient history both in school and on my own time. I was known to include allusions to Grecian history in nearly all my writing back in high school. All of that is to say that when it comes to Greek mythology I know my way around the tales.

So, when I heard that The Odyssey was getting a film adaptation I was thrilled. I had some reservations, mostly because I’m used to movies not living up to the beauty of their books. Christopher Nolan directing was a hit or miss for me as well. Unlike many others, I didn’t mind the casting – I mean come on, I love Zendaya and Tom Holland. 

My sister and I were able to snag tickets a day in advance, some of the only people in the theater – not shocking for a 3:00 viewing on a Thursday afternoon. After the previews rolled away, we settled in for a nearly three hour film.

And what I experienced left me with a swirl of emotions which can be boiled down to an un-enthusiatic meh.

Let it be said, I know an adaptation doesn’t need to be faithful to its source material. One of my favorite movies of all time is How To Train Your Dragon and that’s nothing at all like the book. When you have a story as ingrained into the global culture as The Odyssey though, it seems disingenuous to not do it properly.

Some of the changes or exclusions were nitpicky on my part. It annoyed me to no end that Odysseus never pulls off his “Nobody” trick to Polyphemus. I was a little disgruntled that Odysseus was telling his life story to Calypso and not the Phaeacians. Athena played far less of a role then she usually does – really the gods weren’t as present as I expected them to be. 

Those are the sorts of things that can be brushed over. Even the exclusion of Aeolus’ winds as Odysseus and his men are just off the coast of Ithaca can be shrugged off. The Odyssey is a rather long myth and a detailed one at that. Including every little detail would have been impossible.

Other changes made me groan though.

Let’s start with one we all saw coming the moment this was announced as a Christopher Nolan film – everything is so drab. Nearly everyone is dressed in shades of brown and gray. There are some pops of color like Penelope’s red dress or Telemachus’ blue toga. But god, I was craving more color. The Odyssey is thought to take place in the Late Bronze Age, so Mycenaean Greece. This was such a brilliantly colored era that it seems a disservice to cast everything in shades of beige. Nothing showcased this point more than Calypso’s island – Ogygia.

The island is described as having sweet-smelling cypress trees, with dozens of owls and falcons. The gardens are lush with life, vines, violents, flowing waters.

In the film though? Ogygia is a barren desert devoid of life. I understand where this comes from a thematic standpoint, to demonstrate how at this point Odysseus is devoid of life himself, he’s stuck both mentally and physically, his life dull. But come on, we can illustrate that without taking away the wonderful gardens that Calypso inhabits. She’s already been done wrong by history so many times, do we really need another?

Speaking of women wronged by this movie, can we talk about Penelope for a second? First, I want to say that I think Anne Hathaway did a brilliant job with what she was given. She’s a fantastic actress and she proves that yet again. The writing she’s given feels oddly cruel at times. It’s clear Penelope is grieving her husband throughout the film. It doesn't help that she’s constantly under threat from the suitors living in her home. Must that anger be so flippantly thrown at Telemachus though? Their interactions feel stilted, not much like one between mother and son, and I’m not saying that’s the actors’ faults in the slightest. I think it comes down to a writing issue.

There are some points that jumped out to me as far too modern. For example, Penelope goes off on her son after Telemanchus says he should take the throne of Ithaca – not the most unrealistic resolution in the world given the circumstances. What does Penelope do? Rightfully she grows furious, still in mourning, but also says how stupid it is that the throne can only be possessed by a man after she had guarded it for so long. Which yes! Female empowerment! I’m all for strong women in the media, but is The Odyssey the right story for that? If we’re going to talk about powerful women, why isn’t there more emphasis on Athena and all she did in the original myth? Seems like a missed opportunity. 

Now, here comes the part that annoyed me that most. The final act.

Let’s get a little history lesson for a moment. As previously said, The Odyssey takes place during the Late Bronze Age. There are some references in the film to back this up such as mention of “people from the sea” over and over and over again.

When I first heard this, I was immediately ecstatic, partially on my ancient history professor’s behalf.

People from the sea? The Sea Peoples! This was a group, or rather groups, of tribes who went around the Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age attacking places like Greece and Egypt, but not just attacking but immigrating and trading as well. I was a little confused as to what role they were going to play in the film, or if it was just some little historical context Nolan threw in there for the history nerds.

Then it was revealed who the people from the sea were.

And would you believe it, it was Odysseus and his men. But that doesn’t make sense in the slightest, not in the historical context, and not in the context of the movie. For one, Odysseus would have needed to hit up places like western Asia to actually be the Sea Peoples. For another thing, you’re telling me the Sea Peoples – likely hundreds to thousands of people – were a group of roughly 100 men? I don’t think so. 

Even in the context of the film it annoys me! Odysseus and his men are only shown to destroy one village, and sure, maybe there was more not shown, but they spend far more of their time on islands covered with monsters or starving at sea then ransacking unsuspecting villages.

Finally, the ending. God. The ending.

Why did Penelope and Odysseus leave Ithaca? I get that this was a call back to earlier in the film, but really? The whole point is about his journey back home, to be with his wife and meet his son, and you’re telling me he just leaves his son behind? After we’ve spent three hours saying how Telemachus can’t be king? All that build up for absolutely nothing! Even if we’re diverting from Homer’s Odyssey and using a later piece of literature where Odysseus returns to Circe’s island, Telemachus is still along for the ride. It doesn’t make much sense for this family to split up after all the work they put in to keep it together. Isn’t this supposed to be a movie about family and homegoing? That ending isn’t really sparking any warm, fuzzy feelings.

Despite how it may seem, there are parts of this movie I liked. I thought the scene on Circe’s island was delightfully grotesque. Athena’s face being that of a woman killed in the siege of Troy was poignant. The whole anti-war tone the film took on, especially towards the end, was impactful given the current political climate. Those things didn’t make up for the shortcomings in my opinion though. Christopher Nolan can direct, no doubt about that, the film was absolutely beautiful – aside from the lack of color – but writing should probably be handed off to someone else.

Overall it’s a somewhat bitter 3/5 stars for me. Maybe next time we’re doing a Greek retelling, we pay a little more attention to the source material.