Cinema isn’t just about storytelling. It is an institution. It not only brings to life what humans can only imagine, it can also shape future perspectives and remind people what it means to be human. Christopher Nolan’s retelling of Homer’s Odyssey is a testament to not just his filmmaking but reminds the audience the true cost of war. It is enigmatic, intense, powerful, enthralling. It is exactly what a Nolan film promises you. A cinematic, gripping journey through another world, made possible only through cinema. This time on completely an iMax lens.
The story begins somewhere in the middle of Odysseus’ escape from Troy. Nolan doesn’t bother too much with timelines in the beginning. The impact lands immediately. The landscape – the realistic one that Nolan made the effort to bring to life – is telling you the story. As Odysseus struggles to remember his life, as he is stranded on an island with Calypso, a nymph who takes care of him, we see minor flashbacks. Elliott Page aka Sinon, one of Odysseus’ soldiers, is killed as the Trojan Horse is taken to Troy. We are then transported to the mythical Ithaca, where Penelope and Telemachus wait for Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, to return. It’s chaotic. But it makes sense. Especially if you know the story already.
It’s been told a thousand times so no one needs a retelling. What they may need is a refresher course on how to showcase a journey, a man’s strength and vulnerability and remind the world about the cost of war.
Damon portrays Odysseus with grace, poise and bravado. A bravado that isn’t superficial. He is sharp and calculating in the face of danger. Where others cower, Odysseus raises his sword. He is honorable and stays true to the adage: the divine help comes when man makes the effort too. Damon is aura-maxing with great poise and dignity as a hero and as a war-time leader. He is the wisest casting choice, a masterstroke that makes the entire journey unmissable. Damon occupies most of the frames in the film and you are invested in every single one of them.
Odysseus, as we know, is smarter, wiser, a leader of men for good reason. Damon, ripped with his salt and pepper hair, owns this role, wins every angle he is in. Whether he is bearing the feet of other men on his shoulders inside the Trojan horse or gazing deeply into Penelope (Anne Hathaway)’s eyes, Damon shines with a humanness and sincerity that isn’t easy to pull off in a role like this. Odysseus fought cyclops and said lines like ‘I defy the gods’ but Damon keeps him human despite the heroism.
Holland makes Telemachus likeable (even when the character is petulant and unlikeable) and that allows the audience to root for Odysseus to return home to his failing but persisting son. Robert Pattinson as Antonius is devilishly bad, deliciously terrible and you watch him in wonder (even more wonder if you have recently seen him in The Drama). Himesh Patel and Jon Leguizamo and Charlize Theron are all splendid in their respective roles, as is the rest of cast such as Benny Safdie, Zendaya and Samantha Morton.
The hue and cry about Lupita Nyongo as Helen of Troy is hardly relevant. The story hardly focuses on her and it is laughable how much of an issue her casting was made, given the scale of the story itself.
Nolan plays with various ideas. His filmmaking celebrates the humanness of the story with close up shots of Odysseus where every wrinkle and every anxious blink is captured without fail. Nolan allows the real locations and the sheer scale of the film to showcase the cruelty of nature. When Odysseus loses his men, as we see his lonely ship in the sea, the magnitude of what he is up against is clearly visible.
Nolan’s real gift may not be in stringing the narrative together in a way that is compelling enough to match the scale of his directorial craft, but what he lacks in the big moments, he makes it up for in big shots. He genuinely allows you to be terrified of whirlpools and cyclops and … even suitors having dinner.
The Odyssey is a reminder why cinema is magic. Why your tiny screen or even 55-inch LED tv cannot capture the magic of an IMAX lens. A larger-than-life story must be told in a larger-than-life way, and Christopher Nolan does exactly that. He delivers each scene as an epic and each frame is art. Nolan’s Odyssey reminds us why filmmakers and filmmaking still matters and why stories need to be told that remind us of our humanity and our frailty.
4.5/5 Stars
