When you love a ship, it’s easy to feel like it will stand the test of time. Few ships can say they have actually lasted for thousands of years. Odysseus and Penelope in The Odyssey have done exactly that, and Christopher Nolan’s version of the epic poem delivers a stunning version of them. They are one of the best movie ships of 2026.
Homer’s ancient tale keeps Odysseus (Matt Damon) and Penelope (Anne Hathaway) apart until the end. Throughout the long years of the Trojan War and then his protracted journey back to his kingdom in Ithaca, Odysseus braves monsters, magic, and the wrath of the gods. Penelope raises their son Telemachus (Tom Holland) and holds off the large group of suitors who want her to remarry. Christopher Nolan makes the most of the ending, but he also expands the screentime for this couple, and the result is the most romantic pairing he has ever written.
MORE: Read our review of The Odyssey for more thoughts on the entire film!
Before The War
Nolan adds a scene between Odysseus and Penelope the night before he leaves for Troy. They are relaxing in bed, watching baby Telemachus sleep, and discussing what’s about to happen. They briefly debate running away, sailing off together, “chasing the escaping sun.” But Odysseus has too much honor to do that. He knows he probably won’t come back from the war. He asks Penelope to move on with her romantic life if he doesn’t, which is a demonstration of his love for her. Odysseus puts her feelings ahead of his own; he wants her to be happy after he’s gone. But she refuses to consider it. The loyalty that is a defining feature of her character is on full display here.
That conversation turns into a full-body kiss that illustrates the incendiary physical chemistry between Damon and Hathaway. (Yeah, the man is leaving for war the next day; we know EXACTLY what happens next, though we don’t see it.) This entire scene is staged with a tremendous amount of intimacy between Odysseus and Penelope, even before the final kiss.
And there’s another meaningful detail here. During this conversation, Penelope gives Odysseus a small pin of the goddess Athena. He manages to keep it with him for the rest of the film. Through every fantastical adventure, he holds onto that gift from his wife. It is his one tangible connection to her. He never lets it go. Even when he finally shipwrecks onto Calypso’s (Charlize Theron) island, she tells him he had the idol gripped in his fist: “Your hand wouldn’t open for weeks.” And he said Penelope’s name while unconscious. In Nolan’s hands, Odysseus is the original “My Wife” guy. (No sleeping with Circe and Calypso for him!)
MORE: Read our celebration of Elliot Page’s performance in The Odyssey!
In Disguise
The Athena idol plays into another important scene between this couple. When Odysseus finally makes it back to Ithaca, he realizes that surveying the situation in the palace in disguise is the best course of action. Dressed as a beggar, Odysseus visits the home that should be his, and Penelope asks to talk to him, as she does every visiting stranger. She asks all of them about her husband. The way she determines if someone has seen Odysseus is if they know about the Athena pin. Disguised Odysseus tells her, “He never took it off.”
This moment gets even more romantic. Still in disguise, Odysseus describes the way the Greeks won the Trojan War. His guilt is overwhelming. As the one who came up with the Trojan Horse, he feels he is responsible for the horrors visited upon the Trojans. He has never explained his feelings to anyone else. He has only unburdened himself to Penelope, and it’s almost as if he can’t wait any longer to explain to her that this is why he’s been gone so long. Even though she doesn’t know it’s him yet.
Earlier in the film, other characters have challenged Odysseus about whether he really wants to go home. This confession to Penelope provides the answer to that. He always wanted to return to his family, but he also needed an internal resolution for his guilt. Telling Penelope all this is part of his journey. She is the most important person, and she is the one who needs to know what he’s been through. That’s why he is still in disguise when he tells her. He can’t truly reclaim his life again until Penelope hears his story.
MORE: Read about how Robert Pattinson compared The Odyssey to Twilight!
The Return
Odysseus may have his internal resolution, but the plot still needs its resolution, which happens when Odysseus finally confronts the suitors who have taken over his house. This sequence puts even more delicious icing on the cake of the Odysseus and Penelope ship. Penelope tells the suitors she will marry whoever can string Odysseus’ bow, which only he could do. None of them can. Then Odysseus, still disguised as a beggar, asks for his chance to try. The “twang” as he plucks the bow he just strung is an electrifying moment. Penelope stops and turns because SHE KNOWS IT’S HIM.
After the ensuing fight scene, in which Odysseus is badly wounded, Penelope finally holds him again while knowing who he is. Damon and Hathaway make you feel every year they have spent apart. Odysseus has just killed all the invaders of his home. He knows he has broken Zeus’ law, which says people must welcome anyone into their home and treat them well because they might be a god in disguise. When he says he’s seeing his palace for the last time, Penelope refuses to believe he will die. Odysseus corrects her: not death, but exile. The families of the dead suitors will force him to accept the punishment of exile for killing these men. Telemachus will be king now. And Odysseus will have to leave for good.
And that’s the perfect and beautiful ending this couple gets in this movie. Odysseus is exiled, but it hardly matters. He will always be home now because Penelope is with him. His home is with Penelope. And they will never be separated again. I’m a sucker for ships riding or sailing off into the sunset together, and that’s exactly what Odysseus and Penelope do. They are doing precisely what they talked about earlier. They are sailing into the west, chasing the escaping sun.
The Odyssey is now playing in theaters.
