Christopher Nolan Defends The Odyssey’s Use Of Modern Language

The Odyssey director Christoper Nolan has defended his use of modern English in his upcoming adaptation of Homer’s Ancient Greek epic.

When the first full-length trailer for one of the most anticipated films of the year landed in December, people couldn’t help but be surprised and a little disappointed by how its dialogue came across.

Despite the source dating back to around the 7th or 8th century BC and being set in Ancient Greece, most of the cast have American accents and use modern language, in contrast to the more traditional way people are depicted as speaking in historical dramas.

However, Nolan has told The Los Angeles Times that he purposefully wanted to modernise his take on The Odyssey, and use language “that has emotional not intellectual meaning to people” in his film.

When writing the script, he deliberately chose modern dialogue and colloquialisms, such as when Tom Holland’s Telemachus refers to Matt Damon’s character, Odysseus, as “Dad” rather than “Father” in one scene.

“I was maybe being naïve, it might bite me on the ass, but I wanted an earthy narrative,” the Oppenheimer director explained. “To me it was a no-brainer.”

For similar reasons, Nolan cast a star-studded collection of A-listers that modern cinemagoers would instantly recognise and feel at home with in his new movie, which includes everyone from Zendaya and Anne Hathaway to Jon Bernthal and Lupita Nyong’o.

“These are mythological figures, iconic in some ways,” he said of characters like Helen of Troy, the goddess Athena and Sparta’s King Menelaus.

Nolan was previously criticised earlier this year for the supposed inaccuracy of the costumes in The Odyssey. He defended his film to Time magazine shortly afterwards, defending the choices he made.

The Odyssey is released on Friday 17 July. Already, early reactions to the film have been glowing, with those who have seen it describing it as “a spectacle,” “immense” and “staggering”.