The Odyssey is one of mankinds oldest stories, but Nolan still finds a way to bring it new life. When Nolan accepted his Oscar for best director for the smash hit of “Oppenheimer” he said “Movies are just a little over 100 years old, imagine being there 100 years into painting or theater. We don’t know where this incredible journey is going from here but to know that you think I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me.” Much like Odyesseus, Nolan is now the captain of this journey. His scripts bring to life what movies are all about. The vision of a film no matter how grand or epic in scale, brought to life.
Nolan really unleases his own horror director between the Cyclops and Circe. He has a habit of teasing his next projects in his current ones like when Oppenheimer is mentioned in Tenet, so maybe this is a sign of what’s to come with him. The scene where the Laestrygonians (big armored dudes pictured in many posters) attack Odysseus and his crew was amazing. The way Nolan shoots it to make it seems like the trees were moving and trapping the soldiers is just so eerie and frightening.
They way Nolan modernizes these themes of a 3000 year old story is perfect. When we defy the Gods, we feel that every misfortune we then suffer is the direct result of their punishment. When in reality its our own conscience and guilt punishing us most of the time. This is core to being human, along with out love of loyal pets and family. Something that both Homer and Nolan recognized and tapped into 3 centuries apart.
The true beauty of this story is how driven it is by its characters. When characters are bystanders to the story unfolding they become forgetable. These characters however are unforgetable. Penelope’s rage, Antinous’ scheming, Eumaeus’s loyalty. They all drive the story. Odysseus is portrayed not as a perfect Greek hero but as a falliable and sometimes broken leader. Even the monsters have such personality.
Nolan’s cast brings these inconic characters fully to life. Weather its Robert Pattison’s brillant performace scolding beggars or Himesh Patal’s respectful muntiny, everyone on the cast is fully immersed in the story. Elliot Page’s role as Sinon shines to me. Despite little screentime he deleivers maybe the best acted scene in the movie for me. Everyone on this project from the biggest stars to the smallest characters is rowing together.
I loved it. Everyone should see it. Nolan truly is a master of his craft.
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A quick math demo:
\[\sum_{i=1}^n i = \frac{n(n+1)}2.\]And a Python snippet for good measure:
def batting_average(hits, at_bats):
"""Return a batting average rounded to three decimal places."""
if at_bats <= 0:
raise ValueError("at_bats must be positive")
return round(hits / at_bats, 3)
print(batting_average(150, 500)) # .300