The Odyssey should look to these two previous Christopher Nolan movies if it wants to stand out as the best example of Nolan’s work. For nearly thirty years, Nolan has been growing as a filmmaker, with the scope and ambition of his movies only becoming more pronounced with time. Even when they shift from the depths of space to the relatively grounded perspective of real-life events, Nolan’s films benefit from the same sense of sympathetic but flawed traits that ground far wider worlds and conflicts.
Nolan’s next film is The Odyssey, perhaps his most ambitious swing yet, forcing him into a more fantastical space than he’s previously been in. However, just because the genre has been shifted somewhat shouldn’t keep the director from looking at his past movies while working on The Odyssey. In fact, two specific entries in his filmography represent some of the elements that The Odyssey needs to nail. If The Odyssey takes cues and lessons from the spectacle and characters of these two previous Nolan films, the epic might be his best movie yet.
The Odyssey Needs The Fantastical And Complex Characters Of The Prestige
The Odyssey should look to the grounded characterization amid the fantastical elements of The Prestige for its approach to its characters. The Odyssey seems to be a faithful adaptation of the ancient Greek epic, which means it’ll have a large cast of humans, demigods, and monsters to play with. However, they all need to be driven by their petty hubris or deep nobility.
A great example of this sort of balance can be found in The Prestige, Nolan’s follow-up to Batman Begins, about a pair of dueling magicians in the late 20th century. That film’s twisty plot, tricky morality, and fantastical elements were all grounded by painfully human characters. Angier and Borden’s magician’s feud was wild, but fueled by relatable ambition, rage, grief, and jealousy.
The Odyssey will hopefully look to these characters, especially Hugh Jackman’s Angier, for ways to approach Odysseus and the other kings of ancient Greece. There’s a hubris and theatrical confidence to Angier that fits the epic tone of The Odyssey. However, the character remains tragic, relatable, and even detestable because of his human qualities.
Angier crosses plenty of moral lines in The Prestige, but the film’s harshest moments with him see him contemptuously seek revenge against Borden for his wife’s accidental death, at one point even dismissing her memory when it conflicts with his plans. It’s these sorts of haunting human beats that should fuel Nolan’s take on The Odyssey.
The Surreal Landscapes Of Odysseus’ Adventures Should Recall Inception
Visually, Christopher Nolan’s films have typically been grounded in reality. Even superhero fare like The Dark Knight trilogy or sci-fi like Tenet kept things largely kept in the real world. That’s different from the purposefully mind-bending elements of Inception, whose larger-than-life visuals should be an influence on the way Nolan approaches The Odyssey‘s biggest moments.
In Inception, the very world can change at the whim of the dreamer. This creates a natural tension from merely existing, with the exact kind of danger that fills the monster-laden world of The Odyssey. The potential presence of Greek Gods in the narrative suggests the very world around the characters could bend to the whims of deities, easily reshaping settings.
This sense of fantastical danger would be great for The Odyssey, making each step of the journey back to Ithaca feel like a dangerous, mindbending quest all on its own. Even more overtly fantastical encounters, like with the Cyclops, could benefit from the sense of danger that comes from a fluid world bristling against characters used to grounded scenarios.
Like any good artist, Christopher Nolan has only grown over time, honing his new works with the lessons of previous films. Hopefully, Nolan is bringing the visual panache of Inception and the character work of The Prestige to The Odyssey, which could help make it the ultimate Nolan film.
