His spouse Penelope, nonetheless, has her personal troublesome job. She should wait in Ithaca for her king or pronounce him useless and transfer on, a job made tougher by an onslaught of suitors who arrive and wish to take her place. The impatience of her son Telemachus solely additional complicates issues, as he doesn’t not know what his position must be in his father’s absence.
At first look, it feels like Hathaway and Holland received a uncooked deal. They need to lounge round an enormous occasion, whereas Damon and his co-stars get to do all the journey. However that studying misses the thematic significance of Penelope and Telemachus.
The suitor plot that takes up half of The Odyssey isn’t only a easy query of romantic devotion. The query isn’t whether or not or not Penelope will stand by her man or dump him for any one of many scorching guys who’ve come to woo her. Moderately, it’s a query of social order, decorum, and hospitality. She should determine if she ought to keep the established order by holding place for Odysseus or if she ought to enable a brand new king to take his place, all whereas navigating the complexities of the host/visitor relationship.
Likewise, Telemachus isn’t only a brat who isn’t going to respect his mother’s new boyfriend. He’s advised by the gods early on about his father’s heroics, but nonetheless feels the decision to motion, to take up his personal heroic quest. To take action too early or too late would have horrible ramifications not only for himself, however for all of Ithaca, as would Penelope’s choice.
Necessary as these roles are, they aren’t all the time probably the most visually stimulating. That’s why the 2 simply appear to be standing about within the film stills. But when Nolan has confirmed something, he could make even a dialog thrilling, which is nice information for followers of Hathaway and Holland.
The Odyssey arrives in theaters on July 17, 2026.
