'The Odyssey' Was a Visual Feast But Committed a Major Crime Cutting This Essential Character

What my book club and I found fascinating about Homer's poem was that Odysseus, the titular character, almost seems like an afterthought. Yes, this is a story about his homeward journey following the Trojan War, but we interestingly do not come face-to-face with our hero until chapter five. Meanwhile, it is quickly apparent who is running the show: the goddess Athena, who, in the first chapter, is pleading with her father Zeus on Odysseus's behalf. It is she who also sets the events of the poem in motion, and continues to orchestrate things throughout Odysseus's arduous homecoming. Without her, nothing is possible.

The cut-back role of Athena is portrayed by Zendaya, who has astonishingly little screen time in the film, and barely any lines at that. She serves more as a plot device to convey Odysseus's guilt (something also out of character for a man who, in the original text, is described as a trickster, deceiver and schemer until the very end) and make the viewer question his sanity, the cost of war.

At the same time, Nolan attempts to give a feminist bent to the story with two monologues given by different female characters—Circe (Samantha Morton) and Penelope. While well-meaning, the monologues lack contextual setup and feel, therefore, out of place in the retelling of the epic. I find it ironic that in his attempt to have a Greta Gerwig-esque state-of-womanhood scene, Nolan sacrifices the true agent of change of The Odyssey, who happens to be a woman herself, and leaves the powerless females to do the talking. They have no real power, but they'll tell you about it. Meanwhile, Athena, who had all the decision-making power in the poem, is nothing but a haunting whisper of memory, speaking maybe a few lines.

Though the reduction of Athena took some wind out of the sails, overall, The Odyssey does justice to the 70mm film format in which it was shot. The (mostly practical) special effects are jaw-dropping, the costuming stunning (and at times terrifying) and the pacing well done for having adapted a 700-page ancient poem. I found it commendable that at no point was I wondering when the film would be over—a sentiment I've felt previously while watching a three-hour long film. It is the original hero's journey, and Nolan's interpretation, in its exploration of many themes still pertinent to us right now, is worth a watch.

The Odyssey is now in theaters.