The Odyssey, the new film by Christopher Nolan adapting the classic epic by Homer, is causing quite a stir. Although right now for the least expected reasons. Because a part of the American audience has found a flaw in the film that they consider terrible: all the characters speak in English. With a North American accent.
Everyone was British in ancient times
While this may sound absurd, it makes logical sense. In Hollywood historical or period films, characters are generally made to speak in British English. By associating that variant of English with a more noble and older tone, there is a connection among part of the audience between the variant spoken in the United Kingdom and a more archaic and historical language. This does not happen with American English, which seems more contemporary and out of context in historical films.
Other people have complained that, being a story set in classical Greece, the characters do not speak in Greek or, at least, with a Greek accent. Something that many have defended by stating that, had they done it that way, they could have sounded like a bad parody by speaking in English, which could even be offensive.
That’s why, although this controversy may seem artificial or absurd, it makes sense when we think about it in context. For many people, the historical past sounds like British English with the accent of the places where it is set, even if it is in English, and it is normal for them to find it jarring that Nolan chose for his actors to speak with their usual diction. A risky decision, and it remains to be seen if it will actually cost him something in what is, to date, the most anticipated movie of the year.
