A Secular Epic

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey now sits atop the box office, and—like millions across the country—I saw it on Friday night. Prior to watching the film, I went out of my way to read nothing about it, trying especially to avoid the culture war about whether it was “woke” or not. In retrospect, I think that latest cultural battle missed much of what was interesting (including interesting to argue about) in the film. Nolan thoroughly rewrites and reimagines The Odyssey, turning it from a pagan tale of gods and colossal personalities into a very contemporary epic about trauma, extraordinary violence, and civilizational decadence.