An Uncomplicated Man, Emily Wilson’s review of Nolan’s The Odyssey. “I would be ashamed to have written any part of this script. Sadly, Damon’s Odysseus isn’t complicated or wily or artful.”
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Comments 2
Saw it this weekend. The dialogue is stilted and jarringly simplistic at times (and not in a way that British accents would have saved it), but overall this was unmistakably Nolan's take on the source material. If his goal was to "Make Odyssey, But IMAX" how can we fault this accomplished writer-director for his dream?
I think it’s ok that the story has to become simpler for film. It’s ok that it’s a different telling of this story. I’m sorry it doesn’t include Emily’s favorite parts or take aways but while her translation might be great I’m sure her screenplay would be bogged down by detail and minutia that don’t fit in a move that’s already nearly 3 hours long. I got a lot of nuance and moral quandary from the film. I’ve not read the poem or any translation and I probably won’t either but I’m grateful I got to experience a take on this story. It’s wild that our society is ok with reinterpreting and telling the story of Batman over and over again but movies on greek literature have to be true to the source material and are judged as canonical reference points when they are just as made up.
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