'Odyssey' translator blasts Nolan's film: 'Has nothing convincing to say'
What's the story
Emily Wilson, the British-American classicist who translated Homer's The Odyssey in 2017, has heavily criticized Christopher Nolan's film adaptation. In an essay for the London Review of Books, she said it "has nothing convincing to say" and "lacks psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth." Despite her translation helping generate interest in the project, Wilson offered a scathing assessment of the blockbuster. Notably, Nolan had credited Wilson's translation as one of his study materials for the film.
Detailed criticism
Film fails to capture richness of Homer's epic, says Wilson
Wilson, a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, argued that Nolan's adaptation fails to capture the richness of Homer's epic.
"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," she wrote.
"Its narrative structure is gimmicky. The writing is abysmal. None of the characters has convincing motivation for their actions or words."
Character critique
She criticized the film earlier, too
Wilson expressed disappointment at the lack of character depth in Nolan's adaptation elsewhere, too.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, she said, "The characters don't have the kind of depth the Homeric characters have." "I felt, 'Do I really care if this guy gets back to his wife?' You haven't given me any reason to."
Despite her criticisms, she acknowledged that Nolan's film is raising awareness about ancient Greek literature and cinema.
Acknowledgment
'Nolan doing best to get the general public reading again...'
Despite her criticisms, Wilson acknowledged that "the release of The Odyssey is still an event to celebrate."
"This epic is bringing audiences back to cinemas... translations of Odyssey, including mine, are flying off the shelves... [and] perhaps the film will persuade a few college administrators not to cut their literature, language and history departments."
"Nolan... is doing his best to get the general public reading again, and I am grateful."
Box office performance
Box office collection and audience score of 'The Odyssey'
Despite Wilson's criticism, The Odyssey has been a major commercial success.
According to Variety, the film earned an "A" CinemaScore from opening-weekend audiences and quickly became one of the highest-grossing films of the year.
Its momentum continued into its second weekend with a whopping $90 million US box office haul.
In India, too, it's working its magic, having earned over ₹150cr gross in 11 days.