Homer Translator Emily Wilson Criticises Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Despite Its Success

Acclaimed classicist Emily Wilson has delivered a sharply critical review of Sir Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster The Odyssey, despite her own translation of Homer’s epic serving as one of the director’s key inspirations.

Writing in the London Review of Books, Wilson said she “would be ashamed to have written any of this script”, describing the film’s storytelling as “gimmicky” and its dialogue as deeply flawed.

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

Wilson argued that the three-hour epic lacks “psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth”, criticising its character development and narrative structure.

Although disappointed by the adaptation, she acknowledged the positive cultural impact the film has had.

“The release of The Odyssey is still an event to celebrate,” she wrote, noting that the film has encouraged audiences to return to cinemas while boosting interest in Homer’s ancient poem.

She added that translations of The Odyssey, including her own acclaimed 2017 version, are “flying off the shelves” and expressed hope that the renewed attention could help protect university literature, language and history departments from funding cuts.

“Nolan is doing his best to get the general public reading again, and I am grateful,” she said.

Wilson had hoped Nolan’s longstanding interest in themes such as memory, identity and time would allow him to bring greater emotional complexity to Homer’s story.

Instead, she concluded that the film displays “his usual combination of grandiosity and superficiality.”

“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,” she wrote.

She also remarked that while the film includes more female characters than many of Nolan’s previous works because of its source material, they are given little meaningful dialogue compared with their portrayals in Homer’s poem.

Wilson noted that her teenage children enjoyed watching the film, describing it as “a family-friendly audiovisual spectacle, like an elaborate Fourth of July fireworks display”, but adding that it possessed “about the same level of narrative and emotional depth.”

During the film’s promotional campaign, Nolan revealed that the opening line of Wilson’s translation, “Tell me about a complicated man,” helped shape his interpretation of Odysseus, portrayed by Matt Damon.

Despite Wilson’s criticism, The Odyssey has been widely praised by professional film critics. The film has received strong reviews across major publications and has performed exceptionally well at the global box office.

The epic features an ensemble cast including Zendaya, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong’o alongside Damon.

The story follows Odysseus, the legendary king of Ithaca, as he undertakes his long and dangerous journey home after the Trojan War to reunite with his wife Penelope and their son Telemachus.