'Odyssey': The woes and wonder of homecoming in Christopher Nolan's retelling of Homer's epic poem

What happens when mortals think they are gods? Poseidon makes the seas perilous, Zeus rains down thunderbolts and Hades reveals the undead in graphic detail. Odysseus (Matt Damon) is a war hero who breaks the fragile bonds of men, and lives to tell the world of its consequences in Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic poem. As he tells his wife Penelope (a regal Anne Hathaway), their mistakes will be forgotten. Women will again be defiled and villages will be pillaged in the name of discipline, warns Circe (a memorable Samantha Morton).

As a modern parable, The Odyssey is a cinematic achievement. It is shot on IMAX, with searing performances by a brilliant ensemble cast. In Ithaca, Penelope waits for Odysseus. Their son Telemachus (Tom Holland) is desperate to meet his “dad” while his mother’s suitors, led by cowardly Antinous (Robert Pattinson), are chafing at the bit. As history has taught us, wars are hollow and homecoming is not easy. How little has changed, Nolan seems to say, as his vision of time as mutable, circular and malleable continues to infuse emotion into events recorded centuries ago, and still so contemporary.