Spoiler for a 3,000 year old poem but the combined Greek army win the Trojan war after a decade long siege thanks to Odysseus (Matt Damon) tricking the Trojans with the famous wooden horse. A series of catastrophes befall him and his crew on the way back to his kingdom of Ithaca, meaning the journey takes him another ten years. Meanwhile his queen, Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Thelemachus (Tom Holland) have to deal with an army of suitors, led by scheming draft dodger Antinous (Robert Pattinson) eating them out of house and home.
There are a few changes and some omissions in the name of getting the film in at a trim sub three hours (Odysseus doesn't open a bag of wind or dunk on people at a sports day for instance) but it's a much more faithful adaptation than many would have expected Nolan to go for. The participation of actual gods is never fully verified but the fantastic elements remain, and are used to craft some spectacular set pieces. If you want a more grounded, historical story you can always assume our lead is an unreliable narrator.
You can do that because the film, in typical Nolan fashion, is told non-sequentially. We begin in current (to the film) day Ithaca but the events of the voyage unfold as recounted to Charlize Theron's Calypso by a drugged up Odysseus as he begins to remember his past. This narrative framing really complements the myth meets history context of the story and the man vs his legend motif is present throughout, from Thelemachus learning about his father from tales of his epic deeds to the grim reality of the Trojan Horse.
The ethereal quality of the journey is enhanced by sumptuous visuals. Nolan and regular cinematography partner Hoyte van Houytema combine highly stylised characters and a desaturated palette with a real world texture to create a truly unique setting. The film is packed with unforgettable visual moments, from the wooden horse looming out of the sand like the Statue of Liberty in Planet of the Apes and a towering, black clad Agamemnon standing at the open gates of Troy like Death incarnate, to horror moments like the terrifying cyclops and a body transformation scene straight out the An American Werewolf in London playbook. You've never seen a historic, or fantasy epic that looks like this.
It helps that the director insists on the practical wherever possible. Putting the actors on boats, in sheep filled caves and inside a real wooden horse puts the cast through the wringer but the results are tangible. It allows for happy accidents like dolphins filmed off the coast of Scotland and gives a sense of place even the best CG can't match. You can almost taste the ocean and feel the flames engulfing Troy.
The put upon actors are excellent across the board. In addition to the names already mentioned the stacked cast includes; Samantha Morton, Lupita Nyong'o, Jon Bernthal, Zendaya, Elliot Page, Mia Goth and many others who are all excellent in roles of various size. Special shout outs to John Luguizamo and Himesh Patel who provide the heart of the Ithaca story and Odysseus's moral compass respectively.
Odysseus himself may be a career high for Matt Damon and is almost certain to land him in Oscar contention. He manages to look both imposingly jacked and haggard at the same time, exactly what you would expect of a legendary figure battered by the elements and misfortune. Likewise, he conveys the duality of the character's nature and soul. Smart enough to defy the gods but too stubborn to swallow his hubris. Desperate to see his family again but deathly afraid of actually returning home.
The epic nature of the journey helps make this one of Nolan's most emotionally resonant films to date. His filmmaking weakness is understanding the small intricacies of human relationships and none of that is needed here. The emotion is painted in huge brushstrokes of death and defiance. A hero broken by his own deeds, a son who needs a legend and a wife who is left with all the responsibility but none of the power. And a dog that refuses to die until it can say goodbye to its master. All underpinned by a beautiful Ludwig Göransson score that focuses on the ancient instruments of the time and is a lot more understated than you would expect.
The film has some other, more modern, things on its mind too. The dialogue in the trailer (particularly Tom Holland referring to his Dad and Mom) received a "mixed" reception but the choice to use modern, American English, particularly in Ithaca makes complete sense in context. Mentions of trade route domination and the "Sea People" (a pirate army made up of a coalition of displaced peoples and disenfranchised smaller kingdoms whose raids helped bring the curtain down on the great civilisations of the Bronze Age) cement this as a story of fading colonial powers. It poses the idea that some atrocities are so deep they break the very notion of civilisation.
Purists may take umbrage with some of the choices made, particularly the sanding off of the nastier edges of the story and the central character but it would be pretty hard to get a modern audience behind a lead that ordered a baby thrown from a wall or sacked a village, taking female slaves. The length and pacing may alienate some as well. Things take a while to get going and the excitement has its peaks and troughs but the highs are so high, and the ending so strong, that you'll feel exhilarated come the credits.
The Odyssey is a story that bellows through the ages and now the 21st century has its own definitive (for now anyway) take. It may also be its director's most impressive work to date and a shining example of why the big screen cinema experience is still essential.
9 plucked bowstrings out of 10
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