Cole

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@bsingh_rao That's funny! Not a dig on him to say I don't think of him as a subtle filmmaker, but he does like making puzzles that open up on multiple viewings

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

I loved Nolan's Odyssey, and this is certainly a wonderful scene. But as with most of Nolan's work, there's always these little opportunities he misses IMO. Cinematic tone is always one thing. Nolan needs to learn how to direct horror.

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@LDani97 Nolan's O. says "What you most want is what you most can’t have. And what you most can’t have is what you already had." This anguishes him (isn't siren song supposed to pull him in?). It's not clear to me that he's struggling with the idea that he might not want to return home

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@TeReKiTaTayRay As a coffee enjoyer, you know I never mind a good roast

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

Imagining a kind of guy who thinks Tarkovsky's Mirror is pretty good, but didn't go far enough, and thinks that Nolan's Memento is a fulfillment of what Tarkovsky was trying to do

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@DanIonasca The sound design didn't build tension (cross-ref the Hades scene, which did). Odysseus's explanation of what the music sounded like is one-dimensional. For Nolan, the most terrifying thought is you can't get back to your family. IMO there are scarier thoughts he could confront

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@nittylife I don’t! But I’m always looking for it. Find moments here and there. What would you consider sublime in film?

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@TonyFox84 That’s right, but I think there are definitely elements of horror. I would also argue many the best art films play right on the edge of that genre. I just think it’s a particular weakness of Nolan’s, looking over his filmography

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@tristen_leto I did like that aspect of the sound in this scene! It was definitely a scene that stuck with me

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@CompanyHarbour I’d definitely put Oppenheimer, the Odyssey, and Interstellar at the top of his filmography! But yeah, generally his protagonists are not as multi-dimensional as I’d like

Totally agree about screen time! I was totally engaged for all 3 hours, but can’t imagine it being longer

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@RevnoProduction lol totally fair. Just a movie viewer

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@theAlcapown But really, as you said, he’s one of the greats! If he did achieve a kind of strange, alien terror, people might find it off-putting

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@theAlcapown I think there is potential for him to go darker. I just don’t think he has that in his pallet. It’s not just about showing in y book. I like his visual style in the scene. I think the sound doesn’t layer in tension though, and I find Odysseus’s description of the song a bit flat

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@TSnooker102 So loud!! I’m never sure how much of that is the movie vs the theater. I have had to plug my ears (not with wax) for parts both times I’ve seen it

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@Processor_21 I think the best horror is about more than horror! Watching someone hear music so beautiful it makes them lose their mind is more scary to me than “big guy who eats people”

But again, I liked those scenes too! The pig transformation especially was really well done

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@SketchesbyBoze Interesting point! I’d agree it’s not the best kind of criticism to say what you would have done, but it is a form of criticism artists often make. Emily Wilson may be a poet and translator, but a critic she is not (she’s more lucky for that I’d say)

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

@TSnooker102 Many people agree with you! It and the underworld scene are probably the most evocative in the film. I’d say near perfect!

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

If he did cross it, however, I have the feeling he wouldn't be as successful. The epic films I love that do nail that experience (Green Knight, Satyricon come to mind) are never going to be crowd-pleasers, and are widely considered failures. They're too alien and strange.

[Cole @SundryTomatoes]

That said, I really did love his Odyssey. In part I love it because he gets so close to that sublime level of film-making but doesn't quite cross the border. He goes right up to the line, and you almost feel like he won't let himself go over it. Tantalizing possibilities!