One of my favorite stories of the week is about Classics professor Emily Wilson’s scathing review of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. I love when academics put their two cents in and critique a piece of art, and I appreciate the fact that Wilson didn’t pull her punches. There are several reasons why Wilson’s scathing review has gotten so much attention and commentary this week. One, she wisely saved her criticism for two weeks after the film’s release, which is classy (in general) and it means that millions of people have already seen the movie and they have their own thoughts. Secondly, few critics and academics are actually willing to go out there and really burn down an already-popular movie, especially when that film is directed by the one and only Christopher Nolan. Part of Wilson’s argument was rooted in the-emperor-has-no-clothes of it all, the fact that people are so blinded by the genius and mystique of the great Christopher Nolan that they seem unwilling to actually turn a truly critical and scholarly eye to any film he makes.
Another piece of the drama around Wilson’s Odyssey criticism is that she’s one of the rare academics with expertise in this very particular niche subject, if we’re calling the greatest Greek myth a “niche.” This is literally her field of expertise, she translated The Odyssey, and she cannot be blamed for having an opinion about it. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening – too many people are upset that a professor said mean things about a film. This is all part of a larger issue: the replacement of true art/film criticism with paid partiality and stan culture. Well, Joyce Carol Oates (more like Joyce Carol GOATes) decided to chime in about Wilson’s critique. Enjoy JCO’s take:
The literary debate over Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey is still not over. On Wednesday, author Joyce Carol Oates defended the hit film following acclaimed translator Emily Wilson’s viral review slamming the movie.
The Blonde and We Were the Mulvaneys author wrote on X that Wilson’s “tone of dismissal & haughty superiority strike a sour note.”
“Rather than disagreeing with interpretations of Homer in a collegial manner, this person, who has benefited enormously from Nolan’s film, speaks in the crude language of MAGA folks attacking someone with ideas that differ from hers,” the National Book Award winner continued. “One would expect a translator, of all people, beholden to a text, in service to a text, to be just a wee bit more thoughtful & respectful of others who are acting in good faith just as (she would claim) she is.”
Oates was responding to a commenter who had written, “This is tough because on one hand I deeply respect Wilson as a classicist and enjoy her translation of The Odyssey, but on the other this review is grounded in such bad faith and filled with outrageous takes that make me feel like she would’ve been hostile to any adaptation.”
In general, Oates said she liked Nolan’s film: “[I] highly recommend both Nolan’s film and the 1997 miniseries co-produced by Francis Coppola. The adaptations are notably different: one American, with the brooding middle-aged-boy-hero Matt Damon; the other very Mediterranean, with charismatic Armand Assante who more naturally inhabits the role … no reason why Nolan, or anyone else, should not re-imagine/re-envision a classical hero through the prism of his own invention.”
Wilson is an acclaimed translator of Homer’s epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, and the opening line of the latter (“Tell me about a complicated man”) was previously cited by Nolan. Her review of the film earlier this week for the London Review of Books was a lengthy hot take on the project.
“Nolan’s Odyssey lacks many of the elements that make the poem great,” she wrote. “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 neighbours. 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.”
It’s interesting that JCO’s take is basically tone-policing Wilson, right? I don’t agree with JCO’s take but, again, I love that she chimed in as well. Scholars, academics, professors and an 88-year-old American literary giant, all fighting over a piece of popular art. And fighting about who has the right to critique art and what is the best way to critique art. I love it!!
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Christopher Nolan attends the world premiere of “The Odyssey” at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 06, 2026 in London, England.,Image: 1114880185, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Credit line: Lounis Tiar/Avalon
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- WORDTheatre’s 20th Anniversary celebration Sponsored by Phiphen Studios & Randy and Jane Sinisi at The Players, Gramercy Park. Featuring: Joyce Carol Oates (Award Recipient) Where: New York, New York, United States When: 19 Oct 2023 Credit: Marion Curtis/Starpix/startraksphoto.com
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- WORDTheatre’s Authors & Actors event at The Players in NYC, Sponsored by Phiphen Studios and Jane & Randy Sinisi, featuring stories by Lore Segal, Joyce Carol Oates & Bernice McFadden Featuring: Joyce Carol Oates Where: NY, New York, United States When: 24 Sep 2024 Credit: Marion Curtis/Starpix for Phiphen Studios/INSTARimages
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- Paris premiere of ‘The Odyssey’ at the Grand Rex theater Featuring: John Leguizamo, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, Tom Holland, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan Where: Paris, France When: 08 Jul 2026 Credit: Sebastien Fremont/Starface Photo/Cover Images **UK AND USA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Premiere of ‘The Odyssey’ at AMC Lincoln Square Featuring: Matt Damon, Christopher Nolan, Anne Hathaway Where: New York City, New York, United States When: 14 Jul 2026 Credit: Roger Wong/INSTARimages
I love it when classicists chime in on a film when it’s informative and particularly when it’s funny. Prof Wilson surprised me with her bombastic and mostly superficial review – ironic, since that’s what she accused Nolan of in his interpretation, but also because, if you love poetry, her translation is a bit bleak. I don’t hate it since she made the epic accessible for many, and we poets need all the support we can get. Nolan did take a very different view of the text – that of a sympathetic man who does evil deeds in war and repents – rather than an anti-hero whose regret is limited. Still, Nolan isn’t dull, and who wants to watch an Odyssey where the protagonist hurts pretty much everyone while making clever quips? The ’90s series is out there is someone wants a more “accurate” take.
I’m on Team Joyce Carol.
I thought Ms Wilson’s critique was rather snippy. Homer told a story. She translated it, one of many interpretations. Nolan made a film about it, one of many interpretations.
these things don’t have to be mutually exclusive, and I’m glad that JCO said what she did.
Well said, maisie.
Thanks. My thoughts exactly.
Same. It’s a movie based on a book (poem). How many times have we had this discussion of book vs movie, anyway? Movies and books are fundamentally different, and it’s OK. That this was basic on a ‘classic’ doesn’t make it any different. Let people enjoy the movie, just as others have enjoyed the book.
perfectly stated.
I *love* that she called Wilson out as a MAGA-hat. That’s *exactly* how she sounds — like, way over the top, personally aggrieved, and channeling a level of outrage laughably disproportionate to the fact that she’s talking about a movie in the multiplex for goodness sake.
Enjoyed the movie. Spider-Man next
The part of her review that has me scratching my head: “There are no sex scenes”. I would understand that complaint in the context of an adaptation of, I dunno, 50 Shades of Grey with no sex scenes but I did not understand that the reason to read the poem was for the sex scenes.
As a lady with my share of issues with Nolan and the women, far and away my *least* favorite parts of Oppenheimer, a movie I really respected, were the sex scenes. They were surplus to requirements. We all know exactly what was going on on that beach, Emily. If you really *need* to see Charlize get down, there are other movies for you.
Agree with both of you.
Disappointed in JCO. FWIW, Wilson has Mary Beard on her side, saying essentially the same thing regarding the treatment of women.
I’m with JCO. Wilson’s take was everything I hate about divebombing reviews from the ivory tower—elitist and snotty. I was lucky enough to be exposed to the Odyssey and other classics at a young age—to read and learn Latin, to read ancient Greek texts in translation, to value arts like ballet and opera that twits like TC claim are becoming irrelevant, and I can’t imagine sniffing at good faith interpretations that are succeeding wildly in making classical works and genres more accessible to current generations.
I’m disappointed in JCO, but she doesn’t “live” in academia so maybe she isn’t used to how this was written. The review EW gave was tame compared to how reviews are written in academia.
Then perhaps she should have kept it to sherry in the senior common room.
Oh, snap!
Here is one instance of no suppression/punishment of voices/opinions. This is America. First amendment, free speech for all. Keep it coming.
I’ve read Emily Wilson’s full review, seen the film, and have been nerd enough (nerds are cool!) to have read several translations; and while she opens with a wryly dramatic start, she does provide what is primarily a scholastic review, snidely humorous and tinged with a bit of “ownership” given her incredible expertise in the source material. Sure, Christopher Nolan (and anyone else) can interpret the text in any way he (or she) choses, and make their attempt at translating its themes for a contemporary audience, but she’s not wrong; Wilson simply had the audacity of being an a woman who is an expert in her field to criticize a man who is an expert in his. One doesn’t have to like her review for it to be correct in its critique of the removal, or the diminishment of many of the most interesting elements of the original tale. The real travesty is that Odyssey simply isn’t a story that can be told in less than three hours, not even by Christopher Nolan, although I’m very glad he tried. Would have loved to see an auteur like Nolan try his hand at an Odyssey limited series on Apple or HBO instead. The movie is a rad watch, but if you find can find translation you enjoy, the Odyssey is well …quite the odyssey.
XOXO – A Nerd who likes the Odyssey AND Christopher Nolan films
I am glad they made it a movie because I had fun going to the movie and seeing it. But you are not wrong having this cast and Nolan make a full series of this would be something to see.
No one wanted Chris Nolan’s Odyssey to fail more than I did but it didn’t. I read her review after having seen the film and I honestly questioned whether or not she got distracted by an uncomfortable shoe or something. Thing is, it didn’t fail. Its a good film if you aren’t familiar with the text as a whole. If you are familiar with it AND have ever seen a movie made of a Stephen King or Tom Clancy or even Jane Austen novel you will recognize that every single thing cannot be covered. You don’t need to explain, for example, 100 lines about Circe being unhinged. The actress covered it with 5 lines dialog and a couple of beautifully timed smirks. (Seriously, I hope she gets recognized somehow.) Pay Attention, Emily! Movies are a visual medium. It’s an impressionist painting not a photograph.
Why did you want it to fail?
Ms. Wilson critic the film like if Nolan pretended he was cloning the original. He was not. I saw the movie. Within the first 10 minutes, it was dlear that this is not an adaptation but more a story inspired by the Odyssey and I started to look at the movie as an original. It is good. The main cast is good; Matt Damon and Tom Holland are great.
As there are many books, tv series and films that are inspired or remake of classics, I don’t understand why ms. Wilson is so mad.
As far as I am concerned, there is only one exceptional version of this classic and it’s Franco Rossi’s in the 1960 (television 1980) with Irene Pappas as Penelope.
While I do think it is great when scholars and people who really study the source material give their thoughts and engage in debate, they have to do it honestly. Emily study the text and did an interpretation meant for reading and study. That is not what Chris Nolan did, nor should he have. He was making a big budget movie for a global mass audience. So yeah he is going to change the language, he was honest about that, and he was going to have to cut stuff out. The movie is already 3 hours long, you leave everything and it would be a day long event.
I saw the movie in 70MM Imax and thought it was amazing, I thought some of the battle stuff dragged and IMO they should have focused more on Ann and Tom’s story. But then that wouldn’t have been the Odyssey. So while I liked the other side of the story better Nolan did a great job highlighting the main story while using the part I liked to set up the stakes. I mean I cried when Tom’s character realized who Matt really was. Beautiful acting. I thought the twist with Athena was so compelling and Zendaya acted her ass off. And honestly that scene at the end with her got Matt Damon his Oscar.
I personally will not be shocked with this movie sweeping the Oscars. Matt and Ann have their lead actors in the bag. I think Tom, John, Robert, Samantha, Zendaya and Lupita are earned their supporting nominations. So go Joyce Carol Oates.
I’m still going with the Armand Assante 1997 version.
Well, I’m going to go with: a movie is always going to have a less profound take than literature. They are not interchangeable media. A film will always be more limited in the ways that literature is more expressive. This is because a film is necessarily A VISUAL MEDIUM whereas literature is not.
This is the problem with a public convinced that movies and television are high art instead of entertainment. Generally, they are not no matter how much endless commentary we produce on them. Let’s not watch movies and think we’re getting an education in critical thinking (we teach literature to develop critical thinking skills, at least as far as the public is concerned. That English/Language Arts class in high school was the class that imparted critical thinking skills). Our obsession with movies is no substitute for freaking reading lit. I think the classics professor what’s-her-name was probably correct; the film didn’t have that much enduring to say about core themes and while obviously cinema CAN, not many films do and I would argue none do to the extent that literature does just given the inherent differences of the two mediums. I would argue that a visual medium can have more emotional impact on the viewer, but it is not necessarily capable of developing the complexity that makes for commentary as insightful as that developed over the length of a literary text – especially when that movie is developed to have mass appeal. It’s entertainment! Nothing wrong with that but let’s not conflate the two.
I blame the rise of Taylor Swift and Harry Potter. Taylor is not writing poetry, Harry Potter is not refined lit. (the movies are boring!). Let’s keep the two worlds separate and stop pretending one is the other.
I don’t think Joyce Carol Oates (whom I adore — she’s such a glorious crank herself) was tone-policing. I think she makes a good point: Wilson’s language was a little MAGA-y and Wilson has benefited from Nolan’s generous nod in interviews to her translation.
I mean, Nolan saying he was inspired by the Wilson translation must have been a dream come true for Wilson’s publisher.
I saw “The Odyssey” earlier this week and was riveted. I hadn’t read the poem since high school (and then again in college) but it all came back in the theater. Nolan doesn’t deliver an entirely faithful rendition, but he hits the main notes. And it’s gorgeously filmed.
Of course, Emily Wilson had every right to write what she wrote. Let’s dissect the hell out of this! This conversation is much more fun than politics right now.
I love Joyce Carol Oates. Her short story collections are essential to my life. Her book Zombie completely freaked me out in a good way. She is a treasure. I also respect her reaction to another academic’s take on The Odyssey. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, especially someone who translated the text. But isn’t all observation open to interpretation? It’s not going to be a word for word translation (like, for instance, Stand By Me – Stephen King), it’s Nolan’s take on a favorite tale. See the movie. Or don’t. But form your own opinion. I also did like that the writer here noted that Wilson waited to release her views so that people could see for themselves. That’s a class move. Something we don’t see very often. Just my 2 cents.
I love Wilson’s review and think it’s hilarious!
I love JCO but her review isn’t giving much. It did remind me of “Jane, you ignorant slut” so that’s fun.
Jeez, it’s a freaking Hercules movie like those I grew up watching.
Maybe Nolan should tackle Tarzan next?