Emily Wilson, translator of the Odyssey, attacks Christopher Nolan: "I would be ashamed to have written part of the script"

Barcelona“A simple man”. This is how Emily Wilson, the first woman to publish a complete translation of the Odyssey in English, defines the protagonist of Christopher Nolan's film. The philologist has lashed out at the film in an essay published in the London Review of Books under the title An uncomplicated man, referring to the first words Wilson used in her 2017 version to define Odysseus as a “complicated man”. During the promotion of the Odyssey (2026), Nolan cited Emily Wilson's translation on several occasions as one of the main sources of inspiration. Nevertheless, the expert in classical literature and professor at the University of Pennsylvania has not been satisfied with the result.

According to Wilson, Nolan's adaptation “lacks psychological, emotional, and ethical depth", and has “an effect-driven structure and characters unmotivated by their actions”. “Writing a screenplay is not one of Nolan's talents,” assures the translator. “The language is flat, humorless. I would be embarrassed to have written part of this screenplay,” declares Wilson. For the philologist, Nolan's Odysseus “is neither complex, nor cunning, nor skillful”, as the director omits some of Homer's most fun and famous tricks, such as the trick of the cyclops Polyphemus. “The Odyssey combines grandeur with superficiality, with underdeveloped characters to deliver on its promise: big explosions and giant giants,” she details.

The translator acknowledges that the film is “an entertaining way to escape the heat for a few hours” and that “Nolan's narrative is easy to follow and close to the work". Wilson also admits that the film "is like a Fourth of July fireworks display, with more or less the same level of narrative and emotional depth”. This lack of emotiveness, explains Wilson, is one of the flaws of Nolan's version: “My eyes remained dry even with the scene of Argos, Odysseus' dog,” explains the professor.

Women with less voice than in Homer

One of the most repeated criticisms of Nolan's filmography is the absence of well-developed female characters. Wilson insists on this issue and states that, despite there being more female characters than in most of Nolan's films, "there isn't one that comes close to the women in Homer's work." One example is the character of Calypso, played by Charlize Theron, whom Wilson considers to "lack the rhetorical ability of the original" and who plays a kind of "unpaid therapist" for Odysseus. One of the most notable differences between Homer's work and the new adaptation is the presence of gods. "Zeus's law is a crucial element in the film, but we don't see Zeus at all," says Wilson. The philologist also argues that the adaptation shows neither the construction of the Trojan Horse nor how Odysseus builds the olive bed. "We are not shown war as a bad thing, but rather it is understood that good men sometimes feel bad about having to kill," explains the professor in part of her article.

Wilson also criticizes Nolan's decision to shoot part of the film in Western Sahara, due to the territory's political situation. Despite everything, the translator of the Odyssey considers the work to be an event to be celebrated. "In the era of streaming platforms, this version makes people return to cinemas and buy the book. For this reason, I thank Nolan for making the general public return to reading Homer's work," concludes the translator.