Coming off the Oscar winning triumph of Oppenheimer even for a director as beloved as Sir Christopher Nolan, there hasn’t been this kind of fever pitch expectation on his next film or on nearly any other movie being released this year. But never fear; Nolan has done it again. With swords, sandals, and the occasional mythical creature, The Odyssey is a triumph in every single sense - from its timeless tale to the stacked cast, who all deliver career best performances, to its many technical achievements. Not only should The Odyssey be an Oscar frontrunner, but with this film Nolan continues to carve out a cinematic mythology all his own. My favorite film of the year.

 

Ten years after the fall of Troy, King Odysseus has not returned to his kingdom. Presumed dead, his palace is overrun by over 100 ruthless suitors. Led by the calculating Antinous (Robert Pattinson), they consume the royal estate's resources, plot to seize the throne, and pressure Queen Penelope into marriage. Meanwhile, Odysseus's son Telemachus, guided by the goddess Athena (Zendaya), sets out to find answers about his father's fate and learns that Odysseus is still alive but trapped.

The Odyssey is probably the best material Nolan has tackled so far in his career that suits his non linear storytelling sensibility. Because we enter the tale with Queen Penelope and Telemachus waiting for Odysseus’ return and cut between that story and Odysseus' journey home, we don’t get to the soldiers escaping the wooden horse in the city of Troy until just after the hour mark. The sequence as they escape and sack the city is filled with the most heart in your mouth, epic in every sense of the word tension. Pure cinema. But also, in tackling the tale this way it allows Nolan to take the time to build a sense of home for Odysseus that we, as the audience, also long to return to.

As the narrative feels so anchored in reality, I thought that the mythological elements could be particularly jarring. But Nolan’s use of as much in camera, practical effects as possible, leads to these creatures feeling like part of some ancient, long forgotten landscape.

Broadly speaking Nolan tackles similar themes to Oppenheimer, but such is the weight of Homer’s 3,000 year old work, there are plenty of themes to choose from. The longing for home, what it is to be a good man versus a nice man, a husband and father, to PTSD and the brutal cost of war, you will leave this film thinking about it for days and equally needing to see it several times again to truly let it soak in.

There is so much to be said technically about the film but the best way to sum it all up is that every single part makes the whole the masterpiece that it is. From the sets, locations, cinematography and Göransson’s ethereal yet blockbusting score, all these craftspeople are at the very top of their craft. The Odyssey doesn't just feel like another movie, its cinema at its most creative and innovative. It truly is a piece of stunning cinematic art. 

 

Likewise the ensemble cast are all remarkable from Matt Damon’s Odysseus who captures the struggle between manly strength and vulnerability so well, to Anne Hathaway as the commanding Penelope (in career best form) to Tom Holland, shaking off the perception that he’s just Peter Parker, with an incredible portrayal of Telemachus.

 

With swords, sandals, and the occasional mythical creature, The Odyssey is a triumph in every single sense - from its timeless tale to the stacked cast, who all deliver career best performances, to its many and varied technical achievements. Not only should The Odyssey be an Oscar frontrunner, but with this film Nolan continues to carve out a cinematic mythology all his own. My favorite film of the year.