Emily Wilson, the classicist behind the buzziest Odyssey translation of my generation, has finally weighed in on the film adaptation of her favorite poem. And so dark was the shade that Wilson’s withering takedown crashed its host site: the London Review of Books, not typically known for its astronomic virality.
We might have predicted that Wilson wouldn’t be a fan of Christopher Nolan’s action-packed take on the epic. But the translator’s objections are layered and surprising.
She is no Cyclops. Wilson’s withering gaze falls equally on the “relentlessly didactic” sub-plots, the anachronistic language, the one-dimensional characters, and Agamemnon’s “weird Darth Vader outfit.”
It’s worth letting the poet speak for herself. But for those of us on a mission, with little time to spare, here are the ten worst burns from her review.
“It’s a family-friendly audiovisual spectacle, like an elaborate Fourth of July fireworks display—and with about the same level of narrative and emotional depth.”
