Christopher Nolan's epic adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey has received near-universal acclaim, but a female critic wonders if women will feel as enthusiastic. Catherine Shoard, a former film critic for the Sunday Telegraph, reflects on the gender dynamics in film criticism and the portrayal of women in Nolan's latest blockbuster.
Historical Gender Imbalance in Film Criticism
Shoard recalls her time as a critic in the mid-2000s, when male critics outnumbered female critics by about eight to one. While she experienced no sexism in Soho, she faced backlash from readers when questioning the genius of directors like Quentin Tarantino, Ken Loach, and Christopher Nolan. In 2020, her negative review of Nolan's Tenet led to online abuse, with comments including "silly cow," "bitter," and "probably a feminist."
The Odyssey's Reception and Female Perspective
As of now, the only review of The Odyssey that Shoard broadly agrees with was written by Stephanie Zacharek for Time magazine, who also did not like the film. The vast majority of reviews have been raves, predominantly from male critics. Shoard questions whether women will see their experiences represented with the same depth as men, noting that Nolan's female characters often get a rough deal.
Simplified Female Characters
Examples include Zendaya's Athena, who mostly shadows Odysseus with a sad head-shake, and Charlize Theron's Calypso, who serves drinks and lotus flowers without mention of her keeping Odysseus as a sex slave for eight years. Samantha Morton's Circe is also toned down, reversing her spell with a quick word rather than a year of sex and rhetoric. These changes make women either more boring or more bonkers, according to Shoard.
Impact on Box Office and Audience
As The Odyssey storms the box office, Shoard wonders how many women in the audience might feel alienated and hesitant to say so. The film's alterations center on Matt Damon's Odysseus, changed from a "tricksy shagger" to a gentle feminist and super-cool warrior. Shoard notes that high-resolution Imax closeups also reveal enormous pores, which may be unsettling for viewers.
