The Odyssey Translator Emily Wilson Had Harsh Words For Christopher Nolan's Movie

Emily Wilson, who became the first-ever woman to translate Homer's "The Odyssey" in 2017, has some thoughts about Christopher Nolan's lauded adaptation (which crushed the box office and earned a great review right here at Looper). She did ... not like it.

Nolan's epic big-screen take on "The Odyssey," which casts Matt Damon as the hero Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as his long-suffering wife Penelope, Tom Holland as their anxious son Telemachus, Himesh Patel as Odysseus' lieutenant Eurylochus, Elliot Page as the reluctant soldier Sinon, Benny Safdie as the imposing Agamemnon, and Zendaya as the goddess Athena, just to name a few. Wilson, who works at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, wrote a review for the London Review of Books, and to put it mildly, she had some notes.

After saying her teenage sons enjoyed the movie's grandiosity, Wilson made it clear that she didn't much care for it, reflecting first on Nolan's now-familiar themes of "the discontinuities of space and time, in magic, tricks, craft, technology, rivalry, substitution, masks, miscommunication, what we remember and what we choose to forget." Wilson went on, "I had hoped that Nolan's affinity with these Homeric themes might push him to new creative heights, and enable him to conjure more believable characters." Ouch. Wilson then addressed the narrative's overall themes, making it clear, again, that she did not enjoy Nolan's film:

"The poem wrestles with the challenges of encountering strangers, of entering their homes and welcoming or rejecting them from one's own. The contemporary resonances are obvious and Nolan's movie hints at some of them, in interesting if scattered ways. But the film's vision is too confused, its characters too underdeveloped, to deliver what it half-promises in terms of big ideas – although it is very good at conveying big bangs and big giants."

What's interesting about Emily Wilson's strident (and sort of pedantic, truthfully) take on Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" is that she's familiar with his previous work ... even his oft-forgotten debut film "Following," which was made in 1998. Comparing that story to "The Odyssey" and saying that, "in theory, In theory, Nolan seems to understand the assignment and its hazards," Wilson notes in "Following," "the hunter is more likely to become the hunted" and is a story about succumbing to temptations:

"But knowing what temptations should be avoided isn't the same as avoiding them – as Odysseus' men learn to their cost when they kill the sacred Cattle of the Sun. Homer's Odysseus makes it home because he is able, temporarily, to suppress his own desires – for meat and wine, for his wife, for control of his household and land, for slaughter, for victory over time and the threat of being forgotten, for a glorious eternal name. But there is no restraint in Nolan's version of 'The Odyssey:' every second is jam-packed with incident, lights and noise, and nothing is ever at a human scale.

Adding to the awkwardness of this entire thing is the fact that Nolan himself has praised Wilson's translation; Wilson acknowledges this. "As they say at the awards shows, I was humbled to learn that Nolan has read at least the first line of my translation of The Odyssey into iambic pentameter. In at least one interview, he cited my version of the first line of the poem: 'Tell me about a complicated man.'" she writes. "But I would be ashamed to have written any part of this script. Sadly, Damon's Odysseus isn't complicated or wily or artful." Again? Ouch.

It's fair to say, frankly, that Emily Wilson is being hard on "The Odyssey." The professor even goes as far to say that it "lacks many of the elements that make the poem great," writing, "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." She wasn't done. "It lacks psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth. Its narrative structure is gimmicky," she continued. "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."

Still, when all is said and done, Wilson had a charitable take on the entire thing ... probably because sales of her 2017 translation spiked massively due to the film's release. Wilson noted this, continuing:

"Some of those who buy the book or show up in cinemas to watch Tom Holland may go on to study ancient Greek. Perhaps the film will persuade a few college administrators not to cut their literature, language and history departments. Nolan, who studied English at University College London – where students still study 'The Odyssey' as a first year 'foundational text' – is doing his best to get the general public reading again, and I am grateful."

Wilson is, obviously, entitled to her own opinion — but honestly, Christopher Nolan's take on "The Odyssey" is a smash hit with critics and audiences. It's in theaters now, and we recommend you check out her translation and the film.