Instant Classics BONUS Mary & Charlotte on the trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey
Feb 3, 2026
They dissect the new Christopher Nolan trailer and whether the hype is deserved. Discussion of the trailer’s focus on muscular warriors versus a solitary Odysseus. Notes on Nolan’s temporal choices and sci‑fi armour that unsettle fixed images of the poem. Observations about stark Scottish landscapes creating menace and hints the film may play with irony and ambiguity.
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Trailer Emphasis Alters Perception
- Trailers reshape expectations by amplifying certain elements over others.
- Charlotte Higgins felt Nolan's trailer emphasised
Timelessness Through Mixed Visual Cues
- Visualising the Odyssey forces choices about time and tone that will always challenge audiences.
- Mary Beard sees Nolan using mixed-era visual cues to communicate the poem's timeless, unpinned chronology.
The Odyssey Defies A Single Visual Identity
- Filmmakers face a core problem: the Odyssey resists a single visual identity.
- Mary Beard notes viewers will dispute any concrete depiction because the poem spans compositions and centuries.
