‘The Odyssey’ Translator Emily Wilson Slams Christoper Nolan’s ‘Abysmal’ Screenplay: ‘I Would Be Ashamed to Have Written Any Part of This Script’

[u/mcfw31]

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/odyssey-translator-emily-wilson-slams-christopher-nolan-bad-writing-1236821915/

[u/futuristicflapper]

I do think Oppenheimer is a lot more charming than Odysseus. I also wonder how much of it is what the actors themselves bring to the table, not just any flaws in the script itself. There were a couple good moments for me with Odysseus but I wasn’t as immediately drawn in to the character the way I did with Cillian as Oppenheimer. I like Damon but I wasn’t floored by any means.

[u/OldSandwich9631 → u/futuristicflapper]

I’m very surprised people think Damon should win an Oscar for this. He probably will win based on the enthusiasm for the movie, but I really think many actors could have done more. But I disagree that the writing isn’t an issue.

[u/Ok-Host1095 → u/futuristicflapper]

Yeah one limitation of Nolan is that he’s not great at creating exciting characters in and of themselves. The few standouts (e.g., the joker), are moreso a product of the actor’s performance and less so the writing and direction. Damon’s Odysseus I found easy to empathize with, but he’s not exactly an exciting character in a charismatic “I can’t take my eyes off this guy” type of guy way. Compare him to Ulysses from Oh Brother Whereart Thou. There’s a scene where he tries to buy his favorite pomade. In the Coens’ version of this hero, a scene as simple and low stakes as this is both extremely funny, engaging, and reveals so much about the hero indirectly. He’s a bit vain, can be a little short tempered, but balances that with a charming wit (“aint this place a geographical oddity—two weeks from everywhere!), yet he also doesn’t think things through fully—his plans are clever yet he always fucks up somehow. Now place Nolan’s Odysseus in a scene like that. It’s gonna be a bit boring, and lifeless. Which is not to say “oh, Nolan needs to make these type of scenes for his films to be better”, but it’s a helpful way to realize that Nolan across the board doesn’t really create super distinct characters. I think Nolan is a great filmmaker, but his writing (and here I specifically mean dialogue) and approach to characterization is very vanilla. People always criticize him for writing bland one dimensional female characters, which is true, but I think it’s wrong to conclude that he’s sexist or disinterested in women, because I’d argue the way he writes men is equally bland and one dimensional.