Emily Wilson Calls Nolan's $90 Million Odyssey Adaptation Abysmal
Updated
Updated · Variety · Jul 27
Emily Wilson Calls Nolan's $90 Million Odyssey Adaptation Abysmal
3 articles · Updated · Variety · Jul 27
Summary
Emily Wilson used a London Review of Books review to denounce Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” saying the film lacks psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth and has “abysmal” writing.
Wilson, whose 2017 translation Nolan cited on the press tour, said the adaptation offers confused big ideas, underdeveloped characters and gimmicky structure, adding she would be ashamed to have written any part of the script.
Her criticism sharpens a split between elite appraisal and audience response: the film earned an A CinemaScore and took in $90 million in its second domestic weekend.
Wilson has still called the release a cultural positive, saying it is driving readers back to Homer and boosting sales of Odyssey translations, including her own.
Why did the acclaimed translator whose work directly inspired Christopher Nolan’s billion-dollar Odyssey adaptation publicly condemn the film as an abysmal failure?
How is a Hollywood blockbuster ironically driving record-breaking 2026 sales for the very academic who tore its script apart?