- Christopher Nolan 's film adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey has achieved significant global box office success while simultaneously sparking a nuanced debate among ancient Greek scholars regarding its fidelity to the original epic.
- Translator Emily Wilson, whose acclaimed 2017 edition of Homer's Odyssey topped Amazon charts due to the film, appreciated the increased public awareness of the poem but felt Nolan's adaptation missed essential themes and made questionable narrative choices.
- “I want to celebrate the fact that so many more people are aware of The Odyssey and were brought back to the poem,” she told The Associated Press . “But at the same time, I had the sense that Christopher Nolan was trying to pack everything in while missing themes that were essential to the poem.”
- Wilson, a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, didn't want to come off as a “snobby” nitpicking expert but questioned a range of omissions and choices, from the absence on screen of the Gods Zeus and Poseidon (Athena is played by Zendaya) to the “incoherent” messaging that condemns both war and physical cowardice. She found Penelope's role so thinned out that it endangered “any possibility of believing in this marriage.” Wilson also that thought parts of the movie, notably the scenes with Odysseus' dog, Argos, “catered towards modern sentimentality.” “Everybody's a sucker for a dog,” she said.
- She further elaborated on her opinion in an essay for the London Review of Books , calling the writing “abysmal” and stating, “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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What scholars think about Christopher Nolan’s adaption of The Odyssey
