*****
The sack of Troy precedes the titular journey our hero Odysseus (Matt Damon ) undertakes during Christopher Nolan’s near three-hour epic.
What follows the infamous Trojan Horse trick is a relentless bid to fend off enemy forces and conquer Troy. This sequence, rendered with Nolan’s trademark visceral force, might bring to mind Nolan’s own prologue for the film that became The Odyssey.
Shattering expectations, Oppenheimer was a box-office monolith, ruthlessly fending off competition and dominating Oscars’ night. Like Odysseus, Nolan reached his pinnacle, earning his industry’s greatest prize. After this exaltation, however, the unavoidable question arises: what comes next?
The answer is an adaptation of a hallowed text that continues his streak of delivering immensely thrilling and impeccably produced, grand-scaled stories. This is a must-see.
What needs highlighting is Nolan’s unwavering loyalty to practicality. The creatures and effects leave you both impressed and horrified because of how strikingly real and threatening they seem. Everything is in-camera. He respects the audience and wants to provide a spectacular cinematic experience.
Blood-curdling physical transformations, vicious otherworldly enemies and painstakingly manufactured production design; Nolan’s trademarks, but nevertheless should be heralded.
The physicality and genuine danger felt during the set-pieces earn Odysseus’ journey the sense of intense peril it strives for. You believe that his crew, led by Himesh Patel (Tenet ), becomes increasingly desperate and weary as it faces one deadly test after another.
Nolan has formulated a wonderful editing rhythm to his films, and The Odyssey is no different.
There are multiple perspectives, including Odysseus’ wife Penelope, on Ithaca, fending off her many suitors, and son Telemachus and his search for information on his father’s absence. There are many strands, but the film juggles them elegantly, finding appropriate moments of dialogue or emotional beats, seamlessly transitioning to another character miles away, in the future or in the past.
The sound emanating from the Cyclops creature is unnervingly loud, heightening the terror and immersing the audience in the precarious moment. The creative choice of how to incorporate the Sirens and their song into the story is striking, and also surprisingly emotional, in a spellbinding way.
Each location has its own distinct texture and individuality. During the sacking of Troy, the night-time photography appears to be lit entirely naturally. Whether this is the case, the sequence is richly immersive, complimenting the sequence’s frantic brutality.
This is one of the original ‘Hero’s Journeys’ which has inspired countless stories since. These are archetypal characters with overt motivations, (Penelope is strong-willed but trapped by societal expectations. Antinous is power-hungry and a murderous schemer ) therefore, the actors’ performances may lack the nuance of Oppenheimer.
That being said, the actors effectively communicate the story’s emotionality. Not straying too far from narrow characterisations may bother some viewers, but those who accept the film as an adaptation of an old, mythical tale will surely find the struggles of these individuals compelling.
Nolan also pointedly includes contemporary observation: violence’s ever-increasing prevalence and its consequences for civilised society and the individual soul. Matt Damon doesn’t give the naturalistic, embodying performance of Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer, but does effortlessly evoke the psychological torment of what his violence has wrought.
There is a wonderfully moving sequence between Odysseus and Penelope intercut with the sacking of Troy that conjures significant emotional weight. It is a powerful reminder of current-day global conflicts that continue to induce destruction and suffering.
At this point, it seems redundant to use superlatives to describe Nolan’s talents as a filmmaker. The work speaks for itself, and speaks in a commanding, self-assured register.
5 / 5 stars
In Galway cinemas now
