Homer translator Emily Wilson really doesn’t like Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey

No matter how acclaimed any work of art is, you can’t please everyone.

But there are some people whose opinions have more value and credibility than others, especially when it comes to Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey.

One person Nolan probably would’ve liked the approval of would be Emily Wilson, the renowned translator of Homer’s works that the British filmmaker even cited as an influence on his production.

Wilson, writing for the London Review of Books, is really, really, really not a fan of the movie. Really.

In a 4000-word piece, Wilson tore strips off Nolan’s film, calling it an empty spectacle with the same level of emotional and narrative depth as a fireworks display.

Wilson wrote, “Nolan’s Odyssey lacks many of the elements that make the poem great. It has nothing convincing to say about time, memory, history, war or about the relationship between one warrior’s glorious return and the lives of his family, adversaries, comrades, friends and neighbours.

“It lacks psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth.

“Its narrative structure is gimmicky. The writing is abysmal. None of the characters has convincing motivation for their actions or words. There are no sex scenes, and all the food looks horrible.”

Wilson said she would have been “ashamed” to have written any part of the script.

Among Wilson’s complaints are that the version of Odysseus as played by Matt Damon has no complexity, nor does he have the trademark cunning or wiliness of Homer’s creation, noting that a famed piece of trickery involving the cyclops Polyphemus was cut from the film.

She also said the film didn’t give the female characters much to do and that the lauded diversity casting is not as progressive as it seems, with roles played by the likes of Zendaya, Himesh Patel and Lupita Nyong’o relegated to “versions of the Black best friend whose only role in the drama is to provide aid to the white protagonist”.

Wilson also went on to criticise Nolan’s thematic ambitions for the film, which she called “confused”, and said that there are many contradictions within the movie in terms of how it depicted the ethics of violence, power and the concept of “xenia”, which concerns how strangers should be treated.

But it sounded as if she wasn’t in the Nolan fan club to start – “Unlike some of Nolan’s other films, The Odyssey is not boring, thanks to the source material, which is impossible to mess up entirely” – so was likely always going to be a hard person to win over.

Having said all that, she wrote she was grateful that the release of the film has become an event that has triggered increased sales of translations of Homer’s works, including hers, and that there has been a renewed interest in the classics.

In the week and a half since The Odyssey’s release, the film has come to dominate pop culture around the world.

The film has become a commercial juggernaut, having already sold $US652 million of cinema tickets globally over the first two weekends, and is holding remarkably well, especially for a blockbuster film. It has yet to open in some key markets including Japan, China and Korea.

The worldwide total includes $US140 million from IMAX sessions. The Odyssey is the first movie to be ever shot entirely with IMAX cameras. The two IMAX screens in Australia have been in high demand and most sessions are almost sold out for weeks, with the only remaining available seats those untenable ones in the front rows.

In Australia, The Odyssey earnt $11.4 million in the second weekend, with a mighty impressive $16,662 screen average. Anything over $10,000 is excellent, and you almost never see it past the opening weekend. The Australian total so far is $29.76 million.

The awards conversation has also started with prognosticators expecting Nolan’s film to be the frontrunner at the next Oscars ceremony. His previous film, Oppenheimer, won seven Academy Awards including best picture, best director and best lead actor.