Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey is already one of 2026’s most exciting movies, but the Coen brothers beat him to the idea 25 years ago. Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic poem is a fitting next step after Oppenheimer for a filmmaker who has distinguished himself as a master of big-screen spectacle.
There isn’t much overlap between Nolan and Joel and Ethan Coen. Many of the best Coen brothers movies are comedies and Westerns, which are two genres Nolan hasn’t shown much interest in. This makes it even more surprising that The Odyssey echoes a Coen classic that came out just after The Big Lebowski.
O Brother, Where Art Thou Is A Loose Adaptation Of The Odyssey
The Coen Brothers Placed Homer’s Epic Into A Surprising New Context
Nolan’s The Odyssey won’t be the first major adaptation of Homer’s poem, since it also inspired O Brother, Where Art Thou. It might not look like a Greek epic, but the Coen brothers’ musical adventure comedy takes elements of The Odyssey and places them into rural Mississippi in 1937.
The Coens have been upfront about their lax approach to adapting The Odyssey, even going so far as to claim that they never read the poem in its entirety while writing their script. Still, it’s easy to see how the broad strokes of the plot take inspiration from Odysseus’ return to Ithaca after the Trojan War.
Like The Odyssey, O Brother, Where Art Thou follows a long journey, but there are many more parallels between the two stories. The Coens’ film features sirens, a cyclops and a hero trying to return to his family, although these elements are reimagined and grounded in reality. The cyclops, for example, is simply a man with one eye.
O Brother, Where Art Thou Is One Of The Best Comedies Of The 2000s
The Coens Continue Their Fine Form After Fargo And The Big Lebowski
O Brother, Where Art Thou is a surprisingly faithful adaptation in some ways, following the most important story beats of The Odyssey. However, it’s much more comedic. The Coens underline the inherent humor in the idea of a madcap journey that takes far too many detours and bumps into a revolving door of eccentric characters.
Aside from its humorous spin on The Odyssey, O Brother, Where Art Thou has many of the other hallmarks that make the Coen brothers such outstanding directors of comedy. There are moments of ᴅᴇᴀᴅpan humor to undercut the freewheeling farce, with George Clooney leading a great ensemble cast who all manage to get plenty of laughs.
O Brother, Where Art Thou is filled with great quotes to go with its cartoonish physical humor. This gives it an unpredictable energy, because it has plenty of ways of making its audience laugh. While it probably won’t look much like Nolan’s The Odyssey, O Brother, Where Art Thou is still worth watching for its unique spin on a classic story.
