The Odyssey: is Nolan adaptation worth the hype? - The Latest

0:00Catherine Shoard:This is The Guardian.

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0:44Catherine Shoard:Film critics like to applaud movies that are cinema with a capital C. We want more.

0:58Catherine Shoard:Help me go home. It's sort of seen as a legitimate superhero movie, but this is a kind of super classy version. Yeah, this is a big old poem. What did you think of it? I didn't like it. From the Guardians Today in Focus, this is The Latest with me, Annie Kelly.

1:19Arguably the most hotly anticipated film of the year, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, officially released today. Catherine Shord, you are the Guardians' film editor. it's a bit of an understatement to say that this story has been around for a while right it's like 3 000 year greek poem why all of the hype around this adaptation of it i think it's a combination

1:42Catherine Shoard:of things i think christopher nolan it's his first film since oppenheimer which made a billion dollars almost which is wild it's crazy uh but it's just been overtaken by the michael jackson biopic as the oh really most successful biopic ever but anyway pretty good until that came along it won seven Oscars which the Michael Jackson biopic won't do so yeah huge film people love Christopher Nolan the fans are very very impassioned it's massive it's been filmed in IMAX in a sort of revolutionary way Nolan built all the sets it's no CGI so there's really a Trojan horse there's really lots of battles I mean there's not all the death but apart from that it's pretty realistic and also it's just a very sort of resurgent box office this year is huge unexpectedly huge things like backrooms obsession have made loads of money so everybody is now going to the cinema and the the marketing has very strongly positioned this as the film if you're going to go to the cinema this year when everyone's going to the cinema go and see this film and everybody's sort of got that message and is going to do that no one could stand between me and home and neither the gods keep us free

2:58and it's that kind of epic scale of it as well isn't it i think it was filmed in six countries you know it was it's kind of the cast they're all saying you know this is the toughest shoot they've ever had to do so the hype around it is that like almost as epic as the poem itself right

3:12Catherine Shoard:yeah exactly exactly they're very much uh yeah pushing that line and those themes you know that the poet that the Odyssey like brings back to us all are like such kind of central themes that we know in all of these different stories and all of our favourite films you know this idea of the hero and the homecoming do you think it has those themes that are relevant to what's going on in the world today and that's also kind of you know grabbing people yeah I mean it tries very hard to push that idea that it's newly relevant so it kind of goes on a lot about PTSD it doesn't say PTSD, Homer didn't mention that but that's what it puts in there and there's sort of lots of lines about is civilisation falling and where's the line between heroism and barbarity so lots of sort of hot button topics whether or not those were exactly what they were in Homer I'm not sure but that's okay, you're allowed to interpret for modern audiences, that's fine and I mean it's received rave reviews hasn't it across the board our own colleagues giving it five stars.

4:13You know, everybody just, all the critics just seem to absolutely love it. What is it that they are, you know, raving about?

4:20Catherine Shoard:I think they are, well, the word that sort of comes up time and time again in these five-star reviews is muscular, muscular storytelling. And I'm not just talking about Matt Damon, right? He was beefed up considerably. He's way beefed up and then he sort of beefed down. He lost 15 pounds or 15 kilos or something. Not that amazing. But anyway, there are quite a lot of shots of him topless and muscular. And there's quite a lot of sort of ass kicking he does where he's quite muscular. But they like the breadth of the storytelling. They like the huge scale. They like the fact it's cinema. I mean, film critics like to applaud movies that are cinema with a capital C and I and all the rest of the letters.

5:02Catherine Shoard:So because it shows that cinema is a very vital art form. So it's really responding to a lot of things that a lot of, by and large, male film critics really, really enjoy. And it's quite geeky, isn't it? Like the loving as well in terms of the film and the way that he did it and the cameras. And I got a lot of that, those kind of, those like fan vibes throughout the critics reviews as well. I think Nolan is a director that really speaks to that. So he's got this huge mainstream fan base. But yeah, they also sort of geek out on the type of cameras used and the resolution of IMAX and all that sort of thing.

5:37Catherine Shoard:And it's sort of seen as a kind of legitimate superhero movie. I mean, it is a legitimate superhero movie. So he did the Dark Knight Rises and all those sorts of films. But this is a kind of super classy version. So, you know, you can't even attack us for liking something from Marvel or something. This is class. Yeah, this is a big old poem. And what did you think of it? I didn't like it. I'm afraid. Sorry about that. Tell us more. Well, it's very long. Right. Yeah, three hours, right? Yeah, you sort of think, I wonder how long this one will be. It's Christopher Nolan's... Oh, it is. It's three hours.

6:14It is pretty long. An odyssey to get through it. It is.

6:17Catherine Shoard:And I do... I mean, one thing about Christopher Nolan is he doesn't... He sort of says, I don't write for actors, which is a choice. And he can still stack his films with the most A-list cast ever. But it sort of means that a lot of the casting feels a bit weird. So Tom Holland plays Odysseus' son and there's lots of talk about him not being of age yet. But you sort of think, well, he's 30 though, isn't he? And back in those days, that was really quite old, you know. There's things like that. I just didn't on a lot of levels. I mean, we'll perhaps talk about the women angle of it a bit later. But the whole thing felt to me a little bit superhero, ironically.

6:55Catherine Shoard:It's quite bloodless. So Odysseus is forever, you know, with a bow and arrow. that's more like that. He's forever killing people very, very cleanly and effectively and they just pop off. It's like a computer game. Nobody ever kind of goes, oh, they just die. And so you've got this R-rated film that's sort of all grisly and muscular and real and, oh my God, it's about trauma. But also it's not. It's just a sort of computer game. There's an outrageous scene late in it, which isn't in the poem where Odysseus does an amazing bit of ass kicking against some goons who are dressed up as other people and just think, sort of boring.

7:33Catherine Shoard:It's sort of a bit of a liberty and it's quite boring. Right. And I know I'll be attacked a lot for saying it was a bit boring, but from time to time it felt a bit boring, just a bit daft. And you talked about the all-star cast. I mean, I remember when I saw the trailer for it, I think last year, I just thought it was just AI generated. I was like, this is ridiculous. You can't have all of these people in the same film. Yeah, yeah. But they were like falling over each other to work for Nolan. Yeah. But who was your kind of standout performance in the film? Well, surprisingly, given that you've got that incredibly stacked cast, it was John Leguizamo, who is most recently best known as Sid, the voice of the animal Sid in Ice Age, and is also in Encanto, but has done things like the Julie Newmar film, who's a drag queen and did some Baz Luhrmann films and stuff like that.

8:21Catherine Shoard:He's great. He's this Colombian actor. He plays a very loyal blind servant, Emmaus. and it's really you sort of think who's that guy is that abel ferrara who the heck is it he's got these crazy contact lenses and sort of aging makeup and all that and a really surprisingly big role and you're sort of thinking because as you say it's sort of a bit ai you think it can't possibly have all these you know anathaway and matt damer just keep coming yeah and also they're in every single film this year i mean robert pattinson's in like three or four films zendaya it's all over the shop isn't she i know and you sort of think oh it's like devil wears prada too You know, it kind of gets a bit boring.

8:57Catherine Shoard:So to have so many stars, what a first world problem. But having this guy come on and be in so many scenes and be really affecting and good felt quite refreshing. Also very important person in the story as well. Absolutely, very important person in the story. And you mentioned women. You know, there are a lot of really amazing actresses in this film. But, you know, this film, and as with other Christopher Nolan films, there has been criticism of how he treats women in terms of his portrayal of those female characters. Was that a problem for you in this film as well? I mean, yeah, I'm afraid so.

9:31Catherine Shoard:I'm sorry. I know that's a really predictable thing to say. And he does have this sort of slightly unfortunate reputation as not being so good with women. They're either sort of saintly or they're kind of horrible. They're always pretty adjacent, aren't they? They're a bit adjacent to the central hero figure. And that's certainly the case here. And so, you know, lots of classicists have sort of pointed out omissions. I mean, there's two very key women in the text that don't appear at all. But also in the same way that Nolan has kind of got rid of a lot of the sort of blood and guts, he's got rid of lots of sex as well.

10:06Catherine Shoard:And the sex sort of plays an important role in this. So Charlie's the Ron's character, Calypso, keeps him as a sex slave for eight years. but in this that's not mentioned and so she just sort of walks about this beach with him holding hands she doesn't even hold hands she's forever sort of giving him drinks like a waitress and it's a bit it's just a bit it doesn't make sense that's a great role in theory but in practice it's just a bit weird it's like sort of Malibu you know Malibu at sundown at time it's really strange the same thing with Samantha Morton's character Cersei who's this incredible character who sort of lives in this shack and then all Odysseus' men come and she feeds them supper and they slurp her up.

10:51Catherine Shoard:They're very hungry. She turns them all into pigs. Odysseus comes along, figures out what's happened and then changes her mind, gets her to reverse it. In the poem, he does that through a year of sex and rhetoric. In this, he just sort of says to her, oh, you know, I know men can be a bit, I know, isn't it? But, you know, these ones aren't so bad. They just want to go home. and she's like, oh, all right. Fine. And the gods put them back. So, you know, things like that. And Zendaya, you know, it's Athena. What an amazing role. But she just looks like she's a Scottish widow's thing on the beach, you know, forever sort of looking.

11:27Catherine Shoard:And sometimes he does a really naughty killing and she sort of looks at him and goes, like, she's really disappointed. Taking his shoes off after a muddy walk. Yeah. So, you know, those sort of things, it's just a bit lacklustre. And even the changes that are made to Penelope. So the very famous bed test is taking that out. It's a quite important bit. And Penelope also condemns one of her own female servants to death, which is a bit, it's not in the poem. It's not nice. So, yeah, it all coalesces around this idea that Matt Damon's hero is an amazing fella. And he's really, really remorseful about all that death he caused.

12:06Catherine Shoard:And he's sort of plagued with guilt and PTSD and also feminism. And that's not how he is in the poem. It's sort of all right to do that because, reinterpret it, but it does kind of chuck the women out with the bathwater. You know, it's not really nice. No. And, you know, along with those criticisms, there have been criticisms of elitism. Like, you can only see this film, really, in an IMAX to get, like, the full experience. Those tickets are quite expensive. But also, you know, as you said, they've spent$250 million. dollars like what does the commercial um kind of success look like for this film are they going to have to get a lot of bums on seats to justify the cost they're going to have to get a lot of sort of rich bums on seats because yeah but the thing about imax prices is that they're they're more expensive the tickets are so much more so they don't have to sell quite so many tickets they won't struggle i mean it'll need it cost about 250 they'll need to make about 600 to break even once you've accounted for ticket sales and marketing costs um they'll do that it'll make 200 million over its opening weekend.

13:11Catherine Shoard:I would say you don't absolutely have to go and see it in IMAX. In some ways, it might be better not to because it is sort of a big experience. And although the IMAX works really well in the sort of grand spectacle scenes, lots of boats and water and all that business, lots of it's close up. And with that, it's like looking in a mirror when you do your makeup in a mirror and it's a sort of 12 magnification mirror. And that's a really horrible sight. It's like that. And so you're looking at people's paws the whole time and it's quite a sweaty film. So you're sort of distracted by that. So in a way you don't have to see it in IMAX.

13:49Catherine Shoard:It might be better not to. Well, that is a great moment to land on. I would just say as the last thing, I find it very encouraging that the sales of The Odyssey, the text, are up by 70%. So it's great that everyone is vibing off this old Greek poem. That's right. Mary Beard has said she wants a Wuthering Heights effect and I think he's done that and good on him. Thank you so much, Catherine. Thank you. And that's it for today. My huge thanks again to Catherine Short. Before we go, I'd really recommend listening to yesterday's episode of our sister podcast, Politics Weekly, where Pippa Crayer and Kieran Stacey look at what we actually know about Andy Burnham's plans for governing and chat about the likely issues at the top of his entree.

14:30Thanks for listening to this episode of The Latest. Today in Focus, we'll be back with you as usual on Monday morning and the latest will be back on Monday night. This episode was produced by Annie Levespa and the senior producer was Ryan Rabgovin. The executive producer was Zoe Hitch and the presenter was me, Annie Kelly.

14:52Catherine Shoard:This is The Guardian.

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