Episode
“The Odyssey” And Christopher Nolan’s Sad Dad Triumph (With Fran Hoepfner)
- Podcast
- Critical Darlings
- Published
- Jul 23, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 5626
- Processing state
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- https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI7132109656.mp3
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Summary
Daddy, tie us to the mast, we’re off to see The Odyssey! Christopher Nolan’s epic about a dad going out for cigarettes has vanquished all foes, critical, commercial, and discourse-able. To unpack it all, we’re joined by Vulture’s Fran Hoepfner. Nolan’s Oppenheimer follow-up both revisits and expands the director’s thematic palette. Among many aspects of the film, we discuss Nolan’s controversial choice to reject many of the signifiers of sword and sandals epics, his thematic quirks, the massive scale of the film, and how the ultimate hero’s journey is also a reflection of Nolan’s own filmmaking journey. We also get into spoilers (with warning), the movie’s possible political aims, and where Nolan might go from here. Finally, we do our Nolan rankings. Next week, we’re swinging with Olivia Wilde’s The Invite. You can email us now! We’re doing an upcoming mailbag episode, so feel free to drop us a line at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices