Sir Christopher Nolan is becoming one of those filmmakers who is easier to admire than he is to enjoy. On the one hand, his devotion to absolute pragmatism (or at least as much as humanly possible) has yielded some of the most fascinating works of cinema in recent history; see Memento, Batman Begins, and Inception (Nolan's magnum opus) for prime examples of his best habits. But, on the other hand, that same devotion can sometimes cause his films to feel cold, lifeless, and lacking any kind of relatable resonance that might otherwise entice an audiences engagement; see Interstellar and Tenet for prime examples of his worst habits. Sure, his movies are visually stunning, feature fascinating practical effects (mostly), and demand tons of commitment from everyone involved, but if there isn't something there on even a basic emotional level to latch onto (a legitimate reason to care about what's happening on screen), then all of the pretty and admirable aspects of your movie are all for not!
Nolan's latest outing, The Odyssey, and adaptation of the epic poem by Homer about one soldiers efforts to return home from war, might very well be the perfect embodiment of everything wrong with Sir Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker. While on a technical level, the film is admirable and fascinating to examine, the narrative choices (or lack thereof) makes the whole event feel significantly less epic than it otherwise might have been. You had my curiosity Sir Nolan, but you lost my attention in less than five minutes!
Full disclosure here: as of writing this review I have not read the original text of Homer's The Odyssey, but I am aware of the content and its themes. So this will be a judgment of the movie strictly on its own merits, and nothing more!
What passes for a "story" follows a general in the Greek army named Odysseus (Matt Damon), one of the leaders and thinkers of the efforts to take over Troy. After said takeover, he and his men begin their journey back to Greece to reunite with their families, and, in Odysseus's case, retake his throne, which has been occupied by would-be suiters trying to entice Odysseus's wife and Queen of the land, Penelope (Anne Hathaway) in his absence. Along the way, Odysseus will find himself challenging the Gods of Olympus, along with facing many different unusual and unexpected challenges on his path. How far is Odysseus willing to go to find his way home, and does he even want to return after what he's done?
Apparently, Sir Christopher Nolan didn't care for things like emotional resonance, narrative nuance, or character development (you know, the very things that make a movie worth watching), because it never appears on screen! None of the characters have any depth or sympathetic attributes to them, and any potential for such nuances are quickly dashed away in favor of bland stoicism. Because no one on screen has any kind of real development, there's no reason to care about anyone or anything that's happening; the things they try to pass as potentially engaging come off as cold, bitter, and lacking any kind of texture to make any of it remotely relatable.
On the technical side, yes, it is incredibly impressive that they captured the entire film on the IMAX system, especially with the brand new technology they developed, allowing fully usable audio to be captured on set (IMAX cameras are typically too loud for such a feat), and the imagery of the film, despite being washed out in a dull color palette, does look impressive enough to showcase the capabilities and textures of the IMAX system. But if the movie you're making with it has no engaging story, no relatable characters, and no understanding of how to deliver either, then none of the pretty pictures made with this awesome camera system will mean anything!
Sir Christopher Nolan's interpretation of The Odyssey is a boring, depressing, and unfeeling slog of a film! It is nothing more than a demonstration of technical prowess masquerading as a narrative, completely devoid of every essential engaging element. Its accomplishments pertaining to the IMAX system is insufficient to forgive its inability to tell an engaging story. If you must watch a film adaptation of The Odyssey, track down and watch the TV mini series from 1997 with Armand Assante; at least that one has some personality!
Don't bother with this one; go see anything else in theaters right now.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment