Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

The Odyssey

This is one of the greatest works of filmmaking I have ever seen in my life! Now this film has been talked in the same breath as Lawrence Of Arabia and Ben Hur that is not something people compare really any films to as those are very specific grand old fashioned Hollywood epics that are never really crafted these days. So when I heard that it for sure had my attention and after seeing the film I can understand why it is being spoken to that degree as this is a massive scale epic that is a culmination of all the previous films Nolan has done that has led up to this very project. The Odyssey is a sprawling adventure with cyclopses, battles, witches and the undead it feels like a great scale fantasy that pulls you in within the first frame and has you go through all the emotions you can experience and by the last frame have you just sit with it and be in total awe of what you have just witnessed. The way that Nolan tells this story of Family, determination, honour and love at the very essence of it and how to treat one another with tenderness and not a fist of hate is so vital and themes which are so relevant in today more then ever. There is so much I cannot wait to discuss about why this film is so amazing it is monumental storytelling at the highest degree and truly a film for the ages. 

Firstly, when I heard years ago that Nolan was adapting the book of the Odyssey I knew so many historians, and book fanatics were going to be so quick to judgement because of the fear of it being “historically inaccurate” i will say the online discourse he has received from this film is very similar to how Scorsese was treated when Temptation of Christ came out in the 80’s so many people were fuming because it did not align with their view of Christ just like how the people who are passionate about this book felt even before this was released that it was not a proper representation of what they thought of in their head and all I will say to that is this. This is Nolan’s take on the story and his interpretation of how he would visualize it and personally the man that gave us Inception and The Dark Knight I think he knows what he is doing he is one of if not the most striking filmmaker to emerge out of the 2000’s and carve the name as a force of nature putting his name aside the likes of Kubrick and Spielberg a honour very few people can say. Now that is discussed and over with I wanna say the way Nolan crafted his take on this was done in such a way that I feel no other filmmaker could of done a better job at it then him as sure it would of been a different take but Nolan has such a specific eye for high brow old fashioned filmmaking him tackling this specific story makes so much sense. This film is a story of God and Monsters and it feels so much deeper then the text Nolan is covering as Chris digs deeper past text to reveal it is about the treatment of how we view each other as a society and by treating strangers and people you meet on your journey with respect as you never know what their inner struggle is. Along with showing that sometimes man can be as dangerous and disrespectful as a monster As the film is very much about also living with the repercussions of your actions and knowing you caused harm and feeling that responsibility on your shoulders and do what you can do to write those wrongs right. What the film presents to the audience that is so incredible was the entire metaphor of the Trojan Horse and how that is so symbolic to the overarching framework of the film and how we view what the battle of Troy meant to people. As Matt Damon’s character just wanted to get home but he has to first come to terms with the ugliness he has witnessed and put not just himself through but others and if he feels worthy of warmth and comfort after that. As so many other films look at the battle of troy as this big epic grand thing Nolan does not do that he shows how ugly, violent and messy that entire thing would of been from the others point of view as people were murdered and their culture taken away and the feeling of erasing others to position others in a higher place of power and it was not a moment of great triumph for him but of utter darkness that he witnessed that night.  The way he executes these themes are so subtle but deeply profound. The feeling of such immense guilt and sorrow within the heart of feeling that you didn’t do all of what you could to better the outcome of a situation and having that really crush your soul and eat at you for each person that feels like a direct responsibility under your command is amazingly fleshed out another great takeaway is the sense of loyalty to hope even when people give you every reason to cave and give up as years go by they have every reason to give up that their commander will be back but after everything from beatings, verbal assaults and yet they do not waver and the catalyst of hope is present in Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway and John Leguizamo perfectly capture that sense of undying hope and I love how it is such a important theme that is so moving. Then in terms of Romance how love is so present is through the loyalty I mentioned as Anne Hathaway’s character refuses to stop believing in the hope her man will come back for her and the family they have made and to love someone is to have a firm grasp of hope and I love how incredibly emotional that was tapped into. The sheer volume of this film is staggering their is so much going on and it also never feels overlong it is a 3 hour long epic and it flies by as your so locked into the story you can’t look away Nolan pours everything he has learned up to this point as a filmmaker and give this incredible adaptation that I could make the argument is the greatest single piece of literature adaptation I have ever seen brought to the big screen. The film is truly a monumental piece of filmmaking and I would go as far as saying it is the greatest film Nolan has ever brought to the screen the way he explores the story, themes and tone of this film is on another level we have not seen from him before. 

Secondly, The performances from the entire cast is superb! Now the actors that stood out to me was Matt Damon who gave his best performance in well over a decade, Anne Hathaway and John Leguizamo give their best work of their respected careers as Anne gives a tender but stern look at a woman grappling with the loyalty to her man and John is also one who refuses to let go of hope and they show the strain it takes on them mentally in sensational onscreen performances that rise above anything in their body of work they have crafted in their careers. Robert Pattinson delivers a sensational turn as the antagonist of the film chewing up every scene he is in and you cannot take your eyes off of him. Samantha Morton and Elliot Page are both in very limited screen time and are truly outstanding Elliot gives an five to six minute monologue that blew me away and Samantha Morton had me utterly terrified and my jaw on the floor giving great onscreen presence. Everyone in this film is solid but John Leguizamo I would say though gives the most stunning performance of the film that really stuck with me but the entire cast is terrific. 

Lastly, The Odyssey  is one of the greatest achievements of filmmaking I have ever seen in my lifetime! Christopher Nolan gives a rare feat that rivals his last which I went on record at the time saying was his best film I truly do think he has outdone himself and given us a film that tops even the levels he went to with Oppenheimer. This is his grand scale epic that will be talked about in 40 years from now this is his Lawrence of Arabia it will be a feature that a kid aspiring to get into filmmaking will use this as a reference point of why they fell in love with the craft of filmmaking I think it does have that reach which very few films can say. The Odyssey is beautiful, it is moving is is the best film of the year and one of the decade this is truly a tremendous piece of filmmaking. I beg you please see this film on the biggest screen you can with the best sound and if you can see it in 70mm it is meant to be seen in that format do yourself a favour and see it multiple times I feel this film massively benefits from the rewatch stand point. 

This film centres on a father who is trying to get home and the wild journey that follows him 

Rated R : for language and violence throughout 

Matt Damon : Damon delivers one of his most tender and emotionally affective performances in a very long time! Damon is one of those actors that I know can deliver top notch performances but he hasn’t been doing that for a while he was in this weird limbo of films like the Great Wall then the film The last Duel and even The Rip but too be fair he also gave us Oppenheimer and Air which are solid performances but I am talking really dig deep and give something along the lines of Talented Mr Ripley or Good Will Hunting and we haven’t seen that from Damon in a Long time. Here he plays a father full of such sadness and regret in his heart of what he has caused and he just at the core of it is looking out for his family and so much unravels because of it. Due to the war he just wanted to help put an end to it but the way of getting back home he had an idea it may of been tough but nowhere near what it ended up becoming. You can see that he knows in his heart if he never came back he has to find peace with that but there is still a itch in him knowing that having that warmth and comfort from his loved ones is irreplaceable. Damon is a emotional force of nature that can say so much by saying so little as you can see the sorrow and raw ache of emotional distress in his eyes and even when he could of acted emotionally he thinks with his heart even when his heart wants to tell him something else entirely he tries his best to listen to reason. we see him go through so many mental and psychically exhausting situations that would of broken even the strongest person but due to his incredibly strong wilded mind he never gave in as he knew he had one thing in his mind his family and knowing their waiting for him even when he gets lost their are fragments of his brain missing and memories missing and he is trying to still find ways to make it all make sense so he can finally be with them. Damon channels this man with such deep and emotional grit that refuses to stay on track of what he set out to do but at the same time as time passes he starts becoming tired with the guilt of what he has put his men through and the things he has seen has  haunted his heart  so if he comes back he will never be the same man that left and be forever changed due to his experiences. Damon for me shines amazingly well in the last hour of this film their is a scene with him and Hathaway in the last 10 minutes of the film that is a very long monologue and the way he goes about telling the story made me want to break down and cry as he wants to be welcomed back with open arms but is he deserving is the way he thinks. Even when he returns regardless of the utter disrespect his family has been shown including himself he refuses to let into to the emotion he wants to impulsively do even though most would have he knows timing is everything. Damon restrains himself psychically to let the others that doubt him make that terrible mistake until he knows it is the right moment to correct them. Damon shines amazingly well as it is a performance that shows strong masculinity with such tenderness and a heart full of love and it is genuinely one of my favourite all time performances of his. The way he approaches the mindset of the character is that of a family man who yes is a leader but refuses to let cynicism ever enter his heart and to not let the world break him down. It is a quite inspiring performance in so many ways and Damon deserves all the award recognition for his work in this it is full of such emotional grit that presents So many layers of this very engaging character that is more then what you see on the outside. Damon is outstanding and a true force of nature showing people after all this time he still has that hunger and charm that made us fall in love with him so long ago Damon is extraordinary! 

Anne Hathaway : Hathaway gives one of the best performances of her career in this film! Also can we acknowledge that she is on a incredible run of films from her other box office smash Devil Wears Prada 2 to now this and has already released 3 films and has 2 more to go this year shaping up to be one of her best years of her entire career. Here she plays the unshakable mother and wife that refuses to give in to any man just to get an ounce of warmth in the absence of her husband. Anne for a good bit of the film is not seen much but when we get to the second act and the men start thinking maybe its time she remarries their is a great scene with her and Pattinson where he tries to persuade her to give him the chance to be her man and instead of shutting him up she does hear his pitch but the moment he mentions having a child of his own with her she dismisses him entirely as she knows that he would want to replace her own son she has with her man. Anne has this crushing sensation that her heart is breaking and knowing the fact her man is out there regardless of people telling her otherwise she knows he is mentally strong that he would find himself back to her. The strength she shows is so admirable and there are multiple scenes she shines in the one that really stuck with me is the one she shares with Holland about who has been sitting on the throne. You can see the shakiness in her eyes that she is utterly terrified if she was wrong that her man may not come back but she also knows she has the strength to keep going even If it tears at her from the inside out and that paranoia does start eating at her piece by piece which is what makes that scene so emotionally impactful. Anne has not many scenes but for wart she is given she shines So well in them providing a great portion of the hope that is vital to keeping the faith for Matt Damon’s character and personally I found it to be one of y favourite performances of the film I have not seen her give such a soulful performance like this in  a while and I will not be slightly surprised if she gains award attention due to it as she is simply terrific. Anne Hathaway gives one of the best performances of her career as the anchor to Matt Damon that keeps the place in order in his absence. 

Robert Pattinson : Pattinson delivers another astonishing turn as one of the most well done unlikeable characters of the year! He has already provided another stellar performance earlier this year with the Drama and now we get to see him as the main antagonist of a greek story Told by Christopher Nolan so yes saying I was excited is a understatement. Pattinson presents who he is so well within the first scene we see of him he is a sleazy, calculated snake in armour that will do what he can to try to impress the right people in order to put himself in a higher liked position of power. Pattinson shows that he has zero remorse for anything and anyone very early on when we see the mistreatment of a dog take place he laughs it off and thinks of no mercy or bad has come to the animal even though he is clearly in pain showing right away that he gets off at seeing anyone or anything in pain. As the film progresses we see that as the time goes by that he should stop just bullying the staff and put his mind to use and try to wow the wife so he can weasel his way into the family in some way if it benefits him in the long run he will do it. He thinks because of his ability to work a room to its knees that he can also impress the queen but her sense of knowing who she is and her loyalty to her man he can see and he finds that to be such an admirable aspect of her personality and as the film goes on and he hears news that the man that runs the place they have tarnished for years and abused may be coming back that sense of smart restraint totally tarnishes and he begins to do whatever he can to make sure he remains as the one in order of things and that sense of over confidence and arrogance is eventually what leads to his downfall. Pattinson channels that cocky attitude that makes your skin crawl with such an authentic believability and he he sparks him to life off the page with such passion and as likeable as he is you cannot look away from him and what he is delivering onscreen. We have seen Pattinson play morally grey characters before but this is his first time revisiting the role of the main antagonist since 2020’s The Devil All The Time. I think it is so fun to see Pattinson getting the chance to chomp at the bit of taking on such a unlikeable character as he has such a great range as an actor he can make any character he plays the audience drawn to which just goes to show how solid of a performer he is and here is no different. Their are quite complicated shades to this character that has a history with Matt’s character and I love how that unravels and is explored so by the time we get to the third act when they come face to face it is such a satisfying full circle moment and had me cheering in my seat. Pattinson leaps off the screen with a grin of unlikeability that makes you  repulsed by his actions but you cannot help but find yourself drawn into what he is doing onscreen giving another truly amazing performances that I would rank as one of his all time best he works the room in each scene changing the climate in every frame he is in Pattinson is a tour de force. 

John Leguizamo : John gives what I think is the best performance of the whole film and was my favourite character to follow in terms of an arc that had me totally stunned! I have always been surrounded by this man’a films since I was a kid and I feel he is more of a great character actor that never got the big amount of attention he deserves because whenever you see him in a film he always adds to the greatness of a film and you enjoy it ten times more. Here he plays a visually impaired man that is nothing but loyal to the family and will do what he can to find out the true intentions of the suiters and what they are up to in order to be steps ahead of them. John plays this wise man that wants the best for the family and he is willing to put himself on the line in order to make sure the house is put first and always made a priority. This undying loyalty is not something that goes unchecked as he is mocked and laughed at multiple times for being lower then most of the people that occupy that space by the suiters and even after all the segregation and verbal assaults he finds himself involved in he never wavers. He refuses to let in just because someone wants to gain a negative reaction out out of him as he knows if he gives into those people he will prove them right and the family will just see him as one that would bend a knee to anyone but by staying that strong it shows to the family they can trust him with their lives. John gives a kind of performance that we have never seen ever before and he imparts wisdom to the ones that will listen and he has witnessed some of the best moments of the family and the uglier sides too but point is he has bared witness to both sides of that coin. He has at moments a dry sort of wit to him but it never clouds the emotional levity of how you are supposed to view him as and the way he walks to the soft tenderness in his voice he changes every single thing we think we know about him as performer and tweaks it to a very different persona that left me totally awe struck. He like Anne has a supporting turn but he chews up all of the scenes he is in and is given limited screen time but in a lot ways is one of the vital aspects of the film and among a stacked cast really stuck out to me which goes to show how good he was. John transforms into this role putting his mind body and soul through the ringer to give the most authentic kind of take on this character that he could give and all the things we are used to seeing him do he puts as the backseat and presents a whole new side of him which he has never explored that had me in almost tears as he is a loyal friend of the family with a soft heart that wants the best for them. John gives such a wholesome performance that moved me and truly is the centrepiece of the film in terms of performance and I cannot express enough how much I love his work in this a sensational turn that I think is the finest work of his career! 

Samatha Morton : Morton is tremendous! Now Samantha is not in this film very much at all she may have I think not even 10 minutes of screen time but she commands the screen with such fierce emotion that once she is gone her impact is felt on the overall feeling of the picture. Morton plays a character that presents a false true to these men and it turns into something scary and dark that made my jaw drop for her entire screen presence as she gives a terrifying monologue with Damon which she goes toe to toe with him and the sheer raw emotion that pours out of her lips and pierces the screen with her eyes had me totally floored. She has such a complex personality for someone that is not given much screen Time but as I always say it’s not about the amount of screen time it’s how you use it that matters. Samatha gives this amazingly layered emotional movement of a venomous creature that just wants them to take the bait in such a deliciously twisted role that has you hooked the moment you see her. Morton is tremendous and gives a screen prescience that swallows the frame whole if I had to give someone a heavy award campaign for essentially one scene it would be her she is truly phenomenal and gives one of the strongest performances of the film that is talked about long after the film is over which goes to show the impact she has had on audiences with her limited performance. Overall Samatha Morton delivers a terrific turn that is among one of my all time favourites shown in a Nolan film. 

Christopher Nolan : Nolan has given the film that he has been trying to craft for his entire career! Christopher you can see has been building up to this for quite sometime and it came at the perfect time for him I feel as he has matured greatly as a filmmaker where he knows that he can use all the skills he has learned over the years from his previous experiences on other films to apply to this in order to make it the best book adaption of this material that has been brought to the big screen. Nolan has crafted a epic on a scale that will be studied dissected and analyzed  by film students, stunts in history classes and so many more of how this film was made, the themes, the sheer look of it I do not think he knows the reach this film will have will be massive. Now what do I think this is his best film? I will tell you as it is comparable to lord of the rings, Lawrence of Arabia and films of scale as it is a story of monsters and gods that has so much and yes the text itself is rich to adapt but the way he went about doing it was masterful. As it is a very straight narrative of a father trying to get home but he didn’t make it so simple in its execution he layers it in such nuance and complexity with great tone and themes that are so deep and emotionally touching. As it is at the core of it about the treatment of others and to be kinder to the people across your journey as you don’t know their story and to be gentle in a world of aggression and lead with tenderness. I felt that throughout the entire film and I love how he made the family so important to the main characters arc as he didn’t throw any character into the background as a throwaway they all served a purpose to the overall outcome of the story. Nolan gave each actor their time to shine and really bite the screen in half with their presence and for the people who think this film is overlong for me personally I never felt not locked into the story as the moment it started I was totally engaged with the story that unfolded in front of me. The themes of family, love, loyalty and deep regret is shown on such a human level that brought me teary eyed and I found very affective in its execution. I do firmly believe he is the most important filmmaker of this century due to his flawless filmography that has covered so many genres and he has knocked them all out of the park and given such a unique spin on whatever he tackles but the thing is this film is so gigantic and amazingly well done where do you go from here as I feel he has reached the ceiling and that is one of the highest compliments I could give any filmmaker. It is incredibly exciting though from a creative place as it goes to show whatever he does ends up being in the conversation of the best he has ever done and then he tops each previous film making the next one better and better showing he is never satisfied with just one thing he is constantly trying to find new avenues to explore creatively to give audiences fresh stories each time. I do think that where he goes in the Odyssey ranks among the highest as a writer, director and all around filmmaker from the action, the emotional beats of the story and the set pieces he just poured each part of his heart into each frame and it is sop vibrantly felt and Nolan has shaped a greek tale that will stand the rest of time due to the sharp direction and incredible vision that just has left people myself included in total amazement of what he has accomplished with this version of the story. Even if you have read the book or not you will not be prepared for the places this film will take you and also from a technical point of view it is perfect from the cinematography, costumes, set design, and score his ability to be as accurate to the time the film is set in and still after all this time still ringing true to practical old school filmmaking never fails to amaze me Nolan transports you back to this time and digs deep into the source material to give a film that will be talked about forever a masterpiece if I had to find one word to describe it Nolan you are such a gifted filmmaker and I cannot wait to see what the next one will be simply beautiful filmmaking from the most important filmmaker of this generation.