‘The Odyssey’ Translator Who Inspired Christopher Nolan Thinks His Movie Stinks
Emily Wilson, a renowned translator of 'The Odyssey,' has published a harsh critique of Christopher Nolan's film adaptation. She describes the movie as superficial and lacking the emotional or ethical depth of the original poem.
Why it matters
The critique highlights the tension between high-art literary adaptation and commercial blockbuster filmmaking, drawing attention to the cultural discourse surrounding modern interpretations of classics.
‘The Odyssey’ Translator Who Inspired Christopher Nolan Thinks His Movie Stinks In probably the funniest possible twist to the idiotic culture war sideshow that's followed Christopher Nolan's adaptation of The Odyssey , Emily Wilson — the classics professor whose 2017 translation at once inspired the filmmaker and earned her the ceaseless ire of right-wing posters — thinks the blockbuster film is an absolute stinker.
In a scorching pan for the London Review of Books , Wilson poo-poo'd pretty much every aspect of Nolan's film. She writes that the film contains Nolan's "usual combination of grandiosity and superficiality," but "lacks many of the elements that make the poem great."
'The Odyssey' Propelled These Books to the Top of Amazon's Charts
These 'Odyssey' T-Shirts Look More Like Band Tees Than Movie-Fan Merch: Here's Where To Buy Them Online
Musk Melts Down Over 'The Odyssey,' Promises AI Slop Remake
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in