A chain gang. A sheriff who won’t quit. A wife who won’t wait. Sound familiar? It should. Homer wrote this story first, the Coens just moved it south.
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Christopher Nolan’s take on ‘The Odyssey’ is almost here, and it’s already one of the summer’s biggest movies. Coming right after his Oscar win, the film has pulled in strong early buzz. But before fans line up for it, there’s a smaller, older movie worth a rewatch first: ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’
Nolan’s film won’t be the first attempt to bring Homer’s epic to the screen. Over the decades, filmmakers have tried again and again to capture Odysseus and his long road home. Some versions stuck close to the text. Others took wild detours. Even the 90s kids’ show ‘Wishbone’ gave it a shot, with a dog playing the lead role.
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The story has done more than inspire direct retellings, though. It has shaped storytelling in general. Plenty of movies borrow its bones without ever announcing it, and ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ is one of the best examples.
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Released in 2000, the film moves the story to Mississippi during the Great Depression. It swaps Greek islands for dirt roads and swamps. And 26 years later, people still love it.
The film follows Ulysses Everett McGill, played by George Clooney, along with his fellow escapees Delmar and Pete, played by Tim Blake Nelson and John Turturro. The three break out of a Mississippi prison and head for the hills. Everett hears that his wife plans to remarry, so he sets out to get back to her before it happens.
That setup mirrors the shape of Homer’s story, even if the details are rearranged. The trio runs into strange characters and stranger trouble along the way. Some of these moments stand in for pieces of the original epic. A one-eyed Bible salesman and Klan member, played by John Goodman, works as a stand-in for the Cyclops. A relentless sheriff chasing the men down plays the role of Poseidon, the god who never lets Odysseus rest.
It isn’t a strict retelling. The filmmakers clearly had fun bending the story to fit a new setting. But the connections are close enough to reward anyone who knows the source material, while still working as a fun ride for anyone who doesn’t.
Part of what makes this film work is that it doesn’t require any homework. Viewers don’t need to know Odysseus’s backstory or the structure of the epic to enjoy it. The story stands on its own.
That actually makes it a smart watch before catching Nolan’s version. People can go in with a rough sense of the journey’s shape, then spot the connections once they sit down with the real epic later. It works almost like a light warmup before the main event.
The soundtrack helps too. Songs like “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow,” “Big Rock Candy Mountain,” “Down to the River to Pray,” and “Keep on the Sunny Side” give the film a strong, memorable identity. The music alone has helped keep the film in conversation decades after release.
Nolan’s film is expected to be the grander, more faithful version of the story. It has scale, a big cast, and a director coming off major awards success. Comparisons between the two films are inevitable, and Nolan’s take will likely win on scope alone.
But ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ isn’t trying to compete on that level. It offers something looser and funnier, with just enough of Homer’s DNA to make it worth revisiting. Watching it first won’t spoil anything about Nolan’s film. If anything, it adds a layer of appreciation once the audience sees how far one story can stretch.
For anyone gearing up for ‘The Odyssey’ this summer, spending two hours with the Coen Brothers first is an easy way to get in the mood.
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