Reminiscent of The Odyssey in its length, focus on one man, beautiful cinematography, muddled philosophy and lack of narrative drive, this film does nothing than another Kurosawa didn’t do ten times better sixty years ago. Students of 16th-century Japanese history might appreciate the obscure references, but again like The Odyssey, it was Greek to me. Also, the prisoner never earned his place in the film’s title.
Forgetting for a moment how Christopher Nolan’s movie compares to Homer’s poem, let me react to the film itself. First, it is encompassing–visually, aurally, dramatically. Despite its 280-minute length (with no introductory throat-clearing), I never considered looking at my watch. That said, it could have been shortened 20-30 minutes without losing much. The scenes with the suitors were weak and repetitive . There was one episode in which Odysseus’s men landed on an island and were repulsed by a troop of armored robots that could have been excised completely. The sack of Troy went on forever and maybe was even shown twice. In fact, the fighting and battle scenes wore me down and were ineffective–certainly not what I had come to see. Then there was this disconcerting oddity: at every stop Odysseus kept losing men, yet when they got back on their ship every oar was still manned.
Now moving on to how the movie clashed with my memory of The Odyssey, I go back to all the battles. I think of The Iliad as the book about fighting, and The Odyssey as the book about our hero’s journey home, his “odyssey.” Perhaps to make his points that war is bad and violence degrades humanity Nolan foregrounds the Trojan War and the deception of the Trojan Horse (taken from the Aeneid!), which takes away the lyrical beauty of the poem that recounts Odysseus’s wanderings across the wine-dark sea and the witches and god-adjacents he encounters. Then there is Odysseus himself: Matt Damon plays him as a stoic super-hero, which overshadows the wiliness Homer gives his hero. In fact, there is little to no character development in Odysseus, Penelope, Telemachus or any character despite the many years that elapse. As a result, perhaps, we feel no emotional bond with them, although that may also be partly attributable to our preexisting familiarity with the plot.
The other difficulty Nolan faces is how to dramatize mythic encounters involving “real” people. We are not on a Star Wars alternate universe; we are on Greek islands with warriors returning from a historical battle. If we are able to sufficiently suspend disbelief, we still feel no danger because we know how Odysseus escapes Polyphemus and resists the Sirens’ call. All we can do is weigh how the movie depicts familiar events. It’s almost more like looking at paintings in a gallery. Ultimately, I have to think The Odyssey should not be made into a movie. I also have to think that Nolan was trying to embed modern messages into the story, but heroic Matt Damon was too dull a blade for this purpose. On the other hand, there was Charlize Theron!
A masterclass in acting: Penelope Cruz is sensational, but Olivia Wilde, Edward Norton and Seth Rogen make the case that the Academy should add an award for “Ensemble Performance.” The casting is also award-worthy, assuming you can accept the notion that Seth Rogen, like Woody Allen, is attractive to women. That the movie was shot on one set and takes place on one evening shows that crowd-pleasing cinema doesn’t require a big budget, CGI technology or Christopher Nolan ambition. Sort of like they do it in Europe.
A total delight! Not as deep or cinematically artistic as recent films on Elvis, Billy Joel or Bee Gees, but appropriate as hits by Peter and Gordon were lightweight in comparison. Who knew Peter Asher was behind so much great music – I didn’t.
No.
Four charming lead characters, amusingly evil bad guys, an interesting musical milieu and a calmly propulsive thriller plot make Tuner a fun watch. Dustin Hoffman is a kick, but the acting honors go to Leo Woodall, the latest Brit to take work away from an American. As in Disclosure Day, the ending is manufactured to make you feel good, if not make sense.
Spielberg keeps us in the dark for as long as he can, perhaps to keep us from recognizing the absurdity of the entire premise of his movie. In fact, it is easier to accept the presence of aliens than the plot developments involving humans, let alone the various powers of his magic wand. Eve Hewson, Emily Blunt, Colin Firth and Josh O’Connor are fine, and so is Jeremy Shamos.
The trouble with filming a “true story” is the viewer is always thinking, could this really have happened?, and in this case the mind generally thought, I don’t think so. On the fictional level, though, we were given a riveting performance by Andrew Scott that, however unlikely, kept us firmly involved, and of course the drama around D-Day is strong.
A thoroughly charming detective yarn spooled by sheep with personalities around humanoid caricatures. The many jokes made you feel good about getting them. The story was farfetched, but this is the first movie in several years that reduced me to tears at the end. A perfect way to spend a rainy Memorial Day Weekend Sunday morning.
This would have been better on the stage, where the “art” and the overacting wouldn’t have been in my face. As it was, the only enjoyable moments in what is essentially a two-hander came from watching my TV buddy James Corden ham it up. Like Marty Supreme, Ian McKellen is presumably meant to be obnoxious, and he was.
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