Try to think of one contemporary filmmaker other than Christopher Nolan who has the clout, the confidence and the ability to persuade a major studio to back a multi-million-dollar adaptation of an ancient Greek poem that most high school students read only because they have to.
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Name one.
Maybe, just maybe, Steven Spielberg could convince some sweaty-palmed bean counters about giving it a go. Perhaps Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” resume might impress some enough to greenlight a more modestly budgeted venture.
But it takes a master showman, a cinematic force, to pull off a jaw-dropping magic trick such as the monumental “The Odyssey,” a reported $250 million project hat leaves you in awe and appreciation.
Nolan’s striking visual vision — it’s the first feature film to be shot with 70mm IMAX cameras — is a staggering siren-like beauty to behold. It’s a cinematic marvel in every way, from Hoyte van Hoytema’s transcendent cinematography to “Sinners” composer Ludwig Göransson’s aesthetically appropriate score that sweeps and swells like the mighty ocean that Odysseus voyages on.
But this is not all spectacle and razzle-dazzle by any means. There’s a breathless narrative pace and drive, and contextual depth, that speak to Nolan’s respect of the source material and how it has informed generation after generation about the foibles and follies of man, the danger of avarice, temptation and greed, the tyranny of war and the enduring quality of a love for home and family.
You’ll walk out of the theater after seeing this nearly three-hour epic with the overwhelming sense that not only was Nolan the right filmmaker for the job, but perhaps the only current filmmaker who could pull it off with such command and intelligence.
Most incredibly, given that Cyclopian running time, you never once fidget or check your watch. Now that’s a major achievement.
The story has served as the foundation for numerous plays, films and TV series — for good reason. It may be an oft-told tale, but it’s a brilliant one. Here’s the CliffsNotes rundown: A disillusioned Ithaca king and commander Odysseus attempts to voyage home after the violent Trojan war. He and his crew get waylaid at every turn and encounter various mythical beasts: from a Cyclops, a surprisingly touching, fearsome but human, creation in the film, to those Sirens. Meanwhile his wife Penelope dodges suitors while his son Telemachus valiantly searches for his decades-absent dad.
“The Odyssey” has a cast to die for — a buff, never-been-better Matt Damon as Odysseus; Anne Hathaway as Penelope, his smart and loyal wife; Tom Holland as the moral Telemachus and Robert Pattinson as the sneering Antonius, one of the hundreds of suitors out to become King of Ithaca, a position that has been vacant for decades since Odysseus has gone missing.
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There are numerous others in the cast deserving of mention: Charlize Theron as Calypso, who keeps Odysseus in her sea nymph thrall; Samantha Morton — a highlight — as Circe, an island witch with a secret power (one of the film’s best realized moments); Oakland native Zendaya as Athena, Odysseus’ helping hand on the perilous journey; a powerful Elliot Page as Sinon, a warrior whose death plagues Odysseus; and, one of the best performances, John Leguizamo as Eumaeus, a shepherd who remains steadfast in his loyalty to Odysseus.
There are many others — Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and her sister, Jon Bernthal, as the King of Sparta and a standout Himesh Patel as Odysseus’ right-hand commander Eurylochus.
If there’s a minor issue with “The Odyssey,” it’s that these remarkable actors aren’t in the film all that much and it leaves you wanting more. But then again, that would make this taut film at three hours more cumbersome.
Regardless of any of that, “The Odyssey” is another feather in Nolan’s masterpiece cap, a grandiose achievement that fills audiences with the same child-like glee experienced when watching “Jason and the Argonauts” and “Clash of the Titans” for the first time. But it goes beyond that by not allowing its action or set pieces to threaten the unyielding significance of this classic tale.
It should lead to a surge of interest in classic literature and the numerous contemporary takes on classic mythological characters.
In fact, after seeing “The Odyssey,” I ordered novelist Madeline Miller’s acclaimed “Circe.” I suspect I won’t be alone in hungering for more entertainment related to Homer’s poem and Nolan’s exceptional film.
Contact Randy Myers at [email protected].
‘THE ODYSSEY’
4 stars out of 4
Rating: R (violence, some language)
Starring: Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Samantha Morton, more
Writer/director: Christopher Nolan; adapted from Homer’s Greek epic of the same name
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Running time: 2 hours, 53 minutes
When & where: Opens in theaters July 17
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