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Spoilers

Has anybody seen this movie yet? What did you think?

I felt divided. Part of me loved the subdued storytelling, the main benefit of which was a much more human look at Odysseus. The other half of me thought the high points didn't get high enough. The guilt-beaten, 1000-yard-stare Fiennes is fantastic if not a little boring; at some point you're expecting a shift that just never happens (again, more realism).

The pace was quite slow. I was patient with this until the climax, when it just didn't really pay off. It wasn't super disappointing, but I thought it could have been better.

Certain interesting themes were just glanced by the dialogue, making you wish Odysseus and Penelope had more of it. These two are so interesting any time they're on screen, but again, the payoff of their (re)connection just never happens.

The action scenes were very fast. This film features none of the typical Hollywood fight choreography. You feel a bit puzzled at first, and then you realize this is how you'd expect people to actually die, not in sword fights with blades clinking, but guys just getting stabbed in the abdomen and keeling over.

I think Penelope's character bothered me the most. Her reaction to Antinous' death was odd. I also had the distinct sense that she was inviting him into her room after he caught her destroying the shroud. Did you think this? I thought perhaps she knew Antinous was going to kill her son, and maybe she thought sleeping with him would save her son's life? But then he hesitates and leaves. I could be reading this wrong, but that's how it struck me. In Homer's work, Penelope hates Antinous more than any of the other suitors. There is absolutely no ambiguity in her feelings in the original story. In the film, Antinous is still arrogant, but they turn him into a subtler sort of character. Maybe I'm naive, but I think it would have been better if this film hadn't featured that ambiguity. It was just enough to feel like an annoying thread, a bit incongruent. It should have either been nixed completely or, if they were going to do it, probably taken it a bit further.

Telemachus is an annoying character. I wasn't excited about the actor they cast for him. I get the idea that he is supposed to be an overly sheltered son, but his arc is flat. He never quite stops being a brat, and you couldn't care less about him leaving in the end.

Overall, I appreciated how modest it all was. There wasn't a single character that was overacted. That subdued realism was probably taken too far. It felt sterile. The film needed more character. It's easy to overdo it and get campy, but it is just as bad when a story with deep soil like this one can't even get you excited.

It's worth a watch. I doubt it will blow you away.