Odyssey Translator Slams Christopher Nolan’s New Film

LONDON, Emily Wilson, the acclaimed classicist whose 2017 translation of Homer’s Odyssey influenced Christopher Nolan’s new film, has delivered a scathing assessment of the blockbuster, criticizing its script, character development and lack of emotional depth.

Summary

• Emily Wilson sharply criticized the writing and characters in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.

• She praised the film’s spectacle but said it lacked psychological and emotional depth.

• Wilson still welcomed the movie for renewing public interest in Homer and classical literature.

Wilson Delivers a Harsh Verdict on Nolan’s Script

Writing in the London Review of Books, Wilson said she “would be ashamed to have written any of this script” and described the film’s narrative structure as “gimmicky.” She argued that many of its characters lack convincing motivations for what they say and do.

Wilson was particularly critical of what she saw as the film’s lack of psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth. She said she had hoped Nolan’s interest in Homeric themes would lead to more believable characters, but instead found the final result grand in scale and shallow in execution.

Her criticism carries added weight because Nolan has openly acknowledged Wilson’s 2017 translation of Homer’s epic as an influence on his adaptation.

During the film’s promotional campaign, Nolan told Empire that the opening line of Wilson’s translation “Tell me about a complicated man” helped shape his interpretation of Odysseus, played by Matt Damon.

Spectacle Impresses, but Characters Fall Short

Wilson acknowledged that the three-hour epic works as a large-scale cinematic spectacle, even though she felt its storytelling failed to match its visual ambition. She compared the experience to an elaborate fireworks display: entertaining and impressive to watch, but limited in narrative and emotional depth.

She also revealed that her teenage children enjoyed the film, highlighting the movie’s appeal as a family-friendly blockbuster despite her own reservations about its writing.

Wilson noted that The Odyssey contains more female characters than many previous Nolan films because of Homer’s original story. However, she argued that those women are given far less to say and do than their counterparts in the ancient poem.

The film features Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland as Telemachus and Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy. The wider cast also includes Zendaya, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron.

At the centre of the story is Damon’s Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who faces a long and dangerous journey home after the Trojan War as he tries to reunite with his wife Penelope and son Telemachus.

Wilson Still Welcomes Renewed Interest in Homer

Despite her harsh review, Wilson said the release of The Odyssey was still something worth celebrating because of the attention it has brought back to Homer’s ancient epic.

She noted that translations of The Odyssey, including her own, have seen renewed demand and suggested the film could encourage more people to read classical literature. Wilson also expressed hope that the renewed interest might help underline the value of literature, language and history programmes at universities.

Her verdict stands in sharp contrast to the overwhelmingly positive reaction from several major film critics. The Telegraph called the movie the “film of the year,” while Metro suggested it could change cinema forever.

The Times described the adaptation as a masterpiece, while the Standard praised it as a colossal piece of cinema. The sharply different reactions underline the divide between Wilson’s literary assessment and the broader critical response to Nolan’s filmmaking.

The Odyssey is Nolan’s first feature since 2023’s Oppenheimer, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.