Emily Wilson, the academic and translator whose 2017 version of Homer’s Odyssey influenced Christopher Nolan, wrote a scathing review of Nolan’s film adaptation released this year [1, 2, 3]. She described the movie’s narrative as “gimmicky” and the writing as “abysmal,” criticizing the lack of convincing character motivations and the absence of psychological, emotional, political, and ethical depth [1, 2].
Wilson highlighted that the film excludes sex scenes and portrayed all the food as unappealing, which she noted explicitly [1, 2, 3]. She sharply contrasted Nolan’s portrayal with her own translation, emphasizing the film’s failure to present believable and complex characters, particularly in female roles [1, 3].
Although Nolan said in a late 2025 interview that he used the opening line of Wilson’s translation—"Tell me about a complicated man"—as a guide for his depiction of Odysseus, Wilson expressed disappointment that his adaptation did not achieve a more creative or believable work despite his affinity for Homeric themes [1].
Wilson further criticized the film for presenting contradictory moral messages around violence and hospitality, diverging from the original poem’s themes [3]. Nevertheless, she acknowledged that the film’s release boosted general interest in Homer’s Odyssey and increased sales of various translations, including her own [1, 2].
She also shared that her teenagers enjoyed the movie, describing it as a family-friendly audiovisual spectacle akin to fireworks, though shallow in narrative and emotional depth [1, 2].
Wilson’s extensive critical review of Nolan’s The Odyssey appeared in the London Review of Books on August 12, following Nolan’s reference to her translation in an Empire magazine interview last year [1, 2, 3].
