‘The Odyssey’ Translator Emily Wilson Slams Christoper Nolan’s ‘Abysmal’ Screenplay: ‘I Would Be Ashamed to Have Written Any Part of This Script’

Variety ^ | 27 Jul;y 2026 | Zach Sharf

[Rummyfan]

Christopher Nolan cited Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation of “The Odyssey” as an influence on his own interpretation of Homer’s epic poem while on the press tour for his latest blockbuster. Wilson is not returning the favor. In a negative review of Nolan’s “The Odyssey” for the London Review of Books (via The Guardian), Wilson criticized Nolan’s adaptation for lacking “psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth.” The author, who is also a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, added that Nolan’s “The Odyssey” has “nothing convincing to say.”

“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. But ‘The Odyssey’ features 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,” Wilson’s scathing review reads.

She adds: “Nolan’s ‘Odyssey’ lacks many of the elements that make the poem great. 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 neighbors. It lacks psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth. Its narrative structure is gimmicky. 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.”

[odawg]

“And so here we have yet more evidence that people give VDH way too much credit.”

VDH has a PhD from the extremely prestigious Stanford University. He is a recognized, documented expert of classical Greek period.

What are your bonafides?

[discostu]

You know what they call the guy who finished last in his class in medical school? Doctor.

My bonafides are that I actually bother to read and think. Which you clearly don’t. So once again: good bye.

[discostu]

So I found the actual article. Turns out you’re a very deceptive and clever editor. You complete edited out the first part of that sentence that only credits Homer with 55 to 60% of the story. And of course the dozen paragraphs BEFORE that talking about how the story spent centuries getting down the pipeline to Homer changing constantly, and being changed and modernized by Homer while he finally wrote it down.

So he’s on the “Homer as final editor and contributor” path. Which is one of the many paths in the Homer Question and part of why it’s so fun.

And you cannot be trusted.

Now really, buh bye.

[odawg]

“Now really, buh bye.”

So you come winging in with crap and then forbid me to say anything.

Deceptive and clever editor??

My point to you in that post was in your claim that Homer never existed, or had a hand in the writings, in accordance to all your claimed experts.

Who is being deceptive?

[Cronos]

Yes, the early, pre-literate populations used poetry to keep their stories passed on from generation to generation — you can see this in the illiad and the odyssey as well as in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana and in pieces like the Song of Deborah

[Cronos]

I finally watched the film last week (when it FINALLy came to a theatre near me) and I liked it.

It is not historically accurate, but it isn't aiming to be - it is a re-telling of a mythological tale. If it was going to be accurate, it would not be as watchable to us Christian, modern audiences:

1. There would be no pants :) - the Achaens didn't wear pants, only the barbarian Scyths did - and I don't think even they had pants in the bronze age
2. the armor would not have been anywhere as imposing -- Bronze age Achaen armor was nowhere as spiffy looking
   
   
   
   
3. Odysseus was a sneaky sob - and that was a good thing in the ancient world - his metis, or sneakiness, reminds Athena of hers - and he was hailed for that - something that goes against our Christian world view
4. The real Odysseus feels no real shame or PTSD - he was a product of his time, but completely alien to our time today
5. he sleeps with Circe, and Calista but to put it into the film would be just for gratuitous s scenes
6. he disembowels people rather spectacularly in the book - check what happens to the servant girls or to the cattle herder - not something that the critic would probably like to see