Interesting take! I like your interpretation, but I can't help thinking that the motives you are attributing to Nolan might be wishful thinking. It would be awesome if it were true, though. I suppose we will never really know the thought process that goes into the planning of any movie. All we can do is reflect on how the film strikes us and hope that we are struck or affected in the way the artist intended. The question I have is whether this is a case of beauty (or goodness) being in the eye of the beholder, (Joe Wilson), or if this film actually has an objective goodness that ought to be appreciated. I really liked the use of your parallel with Christ's use of parables. I have not actually seen the movie yet, so we will have to see whether I actually have "eyes to see and ears to hear!" :)
My taste and opinions on movies are, of course, always objectively correct and in line with reality. There is no other possible interpretation. 😉😂
Thanks for your thoughts, Clare. I would encourage thoughtful engagement with this film. I think it has many merits that the pre-release outrage could not anticipate.
Why would I be reading your blog posts if I wasn't convinced that your opinions are always objectively correct! And of course there are no other possible interpretations! That's why I don't even bother to patronize other movie blogs! ;)
He wouldn't be the first artist to have created a work of art more profound than his intention. This dynamic has been generally understood for milkenia. It's why Homer invokes the Muse in the opening to the Illiad and the Odyssey.
This analysis saves the movie for me. Sinon’s heartbreaking rant in Hades is what I imagine Page herself might one day say about the way she was manipulated and deceived by propagators of transgender ideology. Whether Nolan intended this or not, the truth always has a way of permeating art. The wonderful thing about Nolan is that he just might have intended it.
I'm not sure about this--do you think Ellen Page would willingly play a part that is meant to show her transgenderism is a sham? That doesn't seem likely since she, & every other "transgender," is invested in it being a reality. Unless Nolan didn't tell her his true motivation for casting her in the part?
If Nolan did this on purpose, then Page certainly was not in on it. I've seen reporting that almost all of the cast accepted their roles from Nolan without even reading the script; I also think the parable is hidden enough that someone as confused as Page will not see it. Many actors are clueless about the meanings of the roles they play anyway 😂
I think he did not tell her (at least immediately) and in that sense he was Odysseus to her Sinon. NB: she gets pinned to the Trojan Horse in the opening scene - literally becoming one with the horse. Horse = Trojan Horse for the mythical story of Troy; Page = Trojan Horse for the real audience. Thanks to Jonathan Pageau for this.
There are plenty of actors out there who regret parts they agreed to play. Gary Oldman's part in The Fifth Element comes to mind.
I also saw a take by someone firmly entrenched in the transgender cult who saw something similar, but saw it as a "he shows how transgender people are called deceitful when we're really not". Which...the fact that it isn't obvious is kind of genius, really.
A good actor makes us forget who they are and makes only the character matter. The whole bruhahaha about who the actors are is, for this reason, a bit odd to me.
Surely what matters is not who they are in “real life,” any more than it matters that it is not, in fact, 1200 BC right now and we are not in Troy. What matters is how well they make us forget they are actors in a play in “real life,” and make us imagine ourselves inside Homer’s story.
So, being respectful is calling him Ellen? And disparaging him and trans people in the comments? And the readers disparaging him? That's respectful? Sounds like hate and being a huge bully.
The Catholic Church teaches to not hate anyone, including transgender people. We don't believe in transgenderism itself (which is why we call her Ellen), but we don't condemn transgender people or anyone else. Only God can judge a person because only God knows everything, including our minds and hearts. I sincerely hope no one here feels hatred or is condemning towards others.
They swapped Achilles with the excellent conversation about life and glory to a weak diatribe about (what exactly?) war requires deceit and sacrifice. Meh.
I thought the delivery of that speech was a bit too theatrical. Granted, Nolan needed a device to show that taking the Troy required a personal betrayal or sacrifice on Odysseus part which later becomes even heavier price because Odysseus starts looking at sack of Troy as unraveling of his world. Well, that construction has even more problems.
Now I'm just wondering what would've happened if Heath Ledger didn't die when he did. He would've killed character-driven roles in stuff like Interstellar or Oppenheimer.
This is a Catholic Substack, and we don't believe in transgenderism. We believe that everyone is a beloved child of God and should be treated with respect and compassion, no matter what.
To the author: thank you for writing this and having the boldness to refer to her that way. I haven't given this article a "like" simply because I haven't seen the movie yet and I stopped reading at the spoiler warning.
I think that you have an interesting interpretation. While I don’t agree with it, I see your point. However, I don’t think that it’s OK to misgender and deadname Elliot Page. While you may not affirm his identity, I believe that you must respect him.
Interesting take! I like your interpretation, but I can't help thinking that the motives you are attributing to Nolan might be wishful thinking. It would be awesome if it were true, though. I suppose we will never really know the thought process that goes into the planning of any movie. All we can do is reflect on how the film strikes us and hope that we are struck or affected in the way the artist intended. The question I have is whether this is a case of beauty (or goodness) being in the eye of the beholder, (Joe Wilson), or if this film actually has an objective goodness that ought to be appreciated. I really liked the use of your parallel with Christ's use of parables. I have not actually seen the movie yet, so we will have to see whether I actually have "eyes to see and ears to hear!" :)
My taste and opinions on movies are, of course, always objectively correct and in line with reality. There is no other possible interpretation. 😉😂
Thanks for your thoughts, Clare. I would encourage thoughtful engagement with this film. I think it has many merits that the pre-release outrage could not anticipate.
Why would I be reading your blog posts if I wasn't convinced that your opinions are always objectively correct! And of course there are no other possible interpretations! That's why I don't even bother to patronize other movie blogs! ;)
Appreciate the reflection on the deeper themes here, but color me deeply skeptical that this take was Nolan's intention.
Fair enough lol. I think it could have been based on Nolan’s background and prior work, but it is entirely speculation on my part 😂
He wouldn't be the first artist to have created a work of art more profound than his intention. This dynamic has been generally understood for milkenia. It's why Homer invokes the Muse in the opening to the Illiad and the Odyssey.
This analysis saves the movie for me. Sinon’s heartbreaking rant in Hades is what I imagine Page herself might one day say about the way she was manipulated and deceived by propagators of transgender ideology. Whether Nolan intended this or not, the truth always has a way of permeating art. The wonderful thing about Nolan is that he just might have intended it.
I'm not sure about this--do you think Ellen Page would willingly play a part that is meant to show her transgenderism is a sham? That doesn't seem likely since she, & every other "transgender," is invested in it being a reality. Unless Nolan didn't tell her his true motivation for casting her in the part?
If Nolan did this on purpose, then Page certainly was not in on it. I've seen reporting that almost all of the cast accepted their roles from Nolan without even reading the script; I also think the parable is hidden enough that someone as confused as Page will not see it. Many actors are clueless about the meanings of the roles they play anyway 😂
I think he did not tell her (at least immediately) and in that sense he was Odysseus to her Sinon. NB: she gets pinned to the Trojan Horse in the opening scene - literally becoming one with the horse. Horse = Trojan Horse for the mythical story of Troy; Page = Trojan Horse for the real audience. Thanks to Jonathan Pageau for this.
There are plenty of actors out there who regret parts they agreed to play. Gary Oldman's part in The Fifth Element comes to mind.
I also saw a take by someone firmly entrenched in the transgender cult who saw something similar, but saw it as a "he shows how transgender people are called deceitful when we're really not". Which...the fact that it isn't obvious is kind of genius, really.
A good actor makes us forget who they are and makes only the character matter. The whole bruhahaha about who the actors are is, for this reason, a bit odd to me.
Surely what matters is not who they are in “real life,” any more than it matters that it is not, in fact, 1200 BC right now and we are not in Troy. What matters is how well they make us forget they are actors in a play in “real life,” and make us imagine ourselves inside Homer’s story.
This was such a good read, really well written!
I'm so thankful for how you treated Page with respect and dignity in this article. Bravo to you for that, sir!
So, being respectful is calling him Ellen? And disparaging him and trans people in the comments? And the readers disparaging him? That's respectful? Sounds like hate and being a huge bully.
ok but it's respectful bullying tho
The Catholic Church teaches to not hate anyone, including transgender people. We don't believe in transgenderism itself (which is why we call her Ellen), but we don't condemn transgender people or anyone else. Only God can judge a person because only God knows everything, including our minds and hearts. I sincerely hope no one here feels hatred or is condemning towards others.
Interesting analysis. Thanks for posting it.
They swapped Achilles with the excellent conversation about life and glory to a weak diatribe about (what exactly?) war requires deceit and sacrifice. Meh.
Fair enough. I definitely understand disagreeing with that creative choice.
I thought the delivery of that speech was a bit too theatrical. Granted, Nolan needed a device to show that taking the Troy required a personal betrayal or sacrifice on Odysseus part which later becomes even heavier price because Odysseus starts looking at sack of Troy as unraveling of his world. Well, that construction has even more problems.
I don't know. I can only assume Nolan is a pretty consistent director, using stuff that worked in the past and improving them for his next films.
I wonder if he tried actor-character correlations in previous films.
Now I'm just wondering what would've happened if Heath Ledger didn't die when he did. He would've killed character-driven roles in stuff like Interstellar or Oppenheimer.
Woah did not see that coming
Well written. I concur.
That is brilliant.
The actor’s name is Elliot Page. This post is deeply disrespectful!
This is a Catholic Substack, and we don't believe in transgenderism. We believe that everyone is a beloved child of God and should be treated with respect and compassion, no matter what.
To the author: thank you for writing this and having the boldness to refer to her that way. I haven't given this article a "like" simply because I haven't seen the movie yet and I stopped reading at the spoiler warning.
Please don’t deadname.
I think that you have an interesting interpretation. While I don’t agree with it, I see your point. However, I don’t think that it’s OK to misgender and deadname Elliot Page. While you may not affirm his identity, I believe that you must respect him.