Uproar in the ranks, as lovers of the Western tradition and purists alike pour disdain on Christopher Nolan’s epic. What is the verdict on the master’s latest film?
After the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomena of 2023, which came from the release of Nolan’s previous masterpiece, Oppenheimer, film fans have long awaited the British director’s next work. This time, the age old epic, The Odyssey, following the perilous journey of Odysseus on his return home from the Trojan War. However, outroar has resulted due to ethnic actors being used to inaccurately portray the ancient Greeks.
The film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, and follows his perilous journey returning home after the Trojan War. Anne Hathaway plays his wife Penelope, Tom Holland stars as Telemachus, and Zendaya features as Athena, amongst other Hollywood stars. The film is 3 hours long and was written and directed by Nolan, shot entirely on IMAX 70mm film.
The film premiered in London on July 6th, and hits the screen on July 17th in the US and UK. The film has performed well so far on Rotten Tomatoes, the film review site, with a critics score of 95-98%. The audience score also performs well at 96-97%.
The film has raised outrage on X, however. Especially over the casting of ‘Lupita Nyong’o’ as Helen of Troy, and transgender woman Elliot Page. This is not an accurate history. Helen of Troy was not actually a black woman. And Mentes was not transgender. Not only is it historically inaccurate and unaesthetic, but it is an attempt by Hollywood to once again undermine the Western tradition, with the Odyssey forming an essential piece of the canon. It reveals the clear bias and ideological capture of elites and Hollywood, casting a black woman as one of the most famous and beautiful women in history. It is patently insulting. Readers may prefer to ignore the film; the book remains as profound as ever.
Elon Musk has expressed similar outrage, and he tweeted out against popular British historian Tom Holland, calling him a ‘cuck’, presumably referring to the selling out of a core western text to foreigners and Africans. He is right to highlight that the West can and should express self-confidence and stand on its own feet, and not be subject to crazed ideologies, that might lead to a black woman playing Helen of Troy. The story is the same across much of theatre and the arts.
Holland, as part of his highly regarded ‘The Rest is History’ podcast, spoke out in praise of the film, and criticised those who judge the film harshly for not having yet seen it. This provoked the response from Musk. However, one would hope that a man so well steeped in ancient Greek history, would take umbrage at the casting of an African in the role of Helen of Troy.
It remains available to us all to read the book.