Homer’s Odysseus was never a perfect hero. Christopher Nolan’s film understands this

Homer’s The Odyssey has long been held up as a powerful example of “the hero’s journey” – a narrative structure that has dominated storytelling for millennia.

The epic poem follows the story of Odysseus, a hero celebrated for his intelligence, determination and cunning, while also being deceitful, hubristic and, at times, murderous. He is a flawed hero; one we might even view as problematic in a modern context.

Today, the hero’s journey appears across popular texts, films and media franchises, including Star Wars, Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. It’s also the basis for basically every superhero movie, including Christopher Nolan’s 2005 film Batman Begins. But not all of these stories are equal – and most struggle to live up to Homer’s foundational example in The Odyssey.

Does Nolan’s retelling do justice to Homer’s original text, and its nuanced exploration of heroism?

The traditional hero’s journey

The hero’s journey as it’s generally known today was first described by American writer and professor of literature Joseph Campbell. In his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), Campbell refers to this structure as both the hero’s journey and the “monomyth” – essentially the “one myth” or story that underpins all others.

The journey consists of a series of events that Campbell suggests represent masculine coming-of-age rites from around the world.

The hero receives a call to adventure (which they tend to reject), before entering a magical “other world” where they overcome challenges, meet allies and enemies, and eventually defeat a nemesis character (or shadow self). They return to the regular world having gained wisdom, power and, in many cases, a crown.

These (and more) steps appear in a set order, and feature a cast of archetypal characters who fulfil specific functions. For instance, the wise old mentor (think Yoda, Dumbledore and Gandalf) provides the hero with guidance as they undertake their quest.

The model was further popularised by screenwriter and executive Christopher Vogler. His 1993 book The Writer’s Journey is presented as an exploration of the format, doubling as a how-to guide for writing a hit.

Today, however, many writers view the model as reductive, and pandering to thoughtless clichés. It’s also criticised for being male-centric, focusing on a specific type of masculinity (traced back to the ancient Greeks) defined by conquest and triumph over death.

In the more flat examples, the “hero” goes out into the world, conquers other populations, and return home with a wealth of riches, knowledge and power. We can see the roots of a colonial mentality here. Vogler himself notes how the model has often been used as a recruitment tool to draw young men into the military.

Homer’s flawed hero

Homer’s epic poem, however, is not this kind of reductive narrative.

There are additional threads woven into the text. The characters of Penelope, the Queen of Ithaca and Odysseus’ wife, and Telemachus, their son, each represent an alternative heroic arc, focused on protecting the home space and coming of age, respectively.

Odysseus is a deeply flawed character, particularly when we look at Classicist Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation, which opens with the words “tell me about a complicated man”. Wilson’s work has been celebrated for the way it shifts away from traditionally male translations of the ancient Greek, offering what many interpret as a feminist retelling.

Nolan cited Wilson’s translation as one of the key sources for his film. He weaves the stories of Penelope and Telemachus throughout the film. Various flashbacks break up the linear flow of the typical hero’s journey, weaving a more layered and spiralling narrative.

Tom Holland is well cast as Telemachus, and Anne Hathaway’s Penelope makes us understand that the throne of Ithaca has not sat empty for the last 20 years, even though the society she lives in deems her “knowledge and experience nothing to the bristles” on Telemachus’ chin.

Matt Damon as Odysseus attempts to capture the complexity of the character. We see his cunning, intelligence and prowess as a warrior, but also his hubris, and how it endangers those around him.

In reflecting on his plan for the Trojan Horse and the sacking of Troy, he laments the act, saying that “to burn the walls of Troy was to burn the world entire”. This retelling does not glorify battle and conquest in the way many clichéd hero’s journeys of the past did, and as the ancient Greeks did. It’s a more contemporary view of violence and trauma.

Nolan’s film does fall short in some important ways, by excluding moments that could have added depth to his characters.

A key example is one of the text’s final passages, in which Odysseus hangs a group of slave girls who he and Telemachus deem traitors for having lain with Penelope’s suitors.

Wilson revisits this with a sense of injustice and horror often absent from previous translations. Nolan, instead, replaces the group with the singular character of Melantho (Mia Goth) who Penelope casts back into the fray during a battle scene — essentially sentencing her to death.

This change shies away from the challenge of truly discussing the “complicated man”, opting instead to preserve the mantle of Hollywood heroism cast over Odysseus.

Seth Robinson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.