O Brother, Where Art Thou? mirrors ‘The Odyssey’ in characters and plot developments.
The Coen Brothers’ film wasn’t directly inspired by the classic Greek tale, making its connections unintentional.
The film’s success highlights the Coen Brothers’ ability to adapt classic stories for modern audiences.
There’s an argument to be made that Joel and Ethan Coen are the most significant American filmmakers of the last few decades. Throughout their eclectic career, the duo has tackled countless genres and continuously challenged expectations as to what a “Coen Brothers” movie should look like. Although their work on the gritty Cormac McCarthy adaptation No Country For Old Men eventually won them the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, the Coens have never been shy about their sense of humor. Their 2000 surprise hit O Brother, Where Art Thou? was a hilarious slapstick adventure that benefited from its hit bluegrass soundtrack and the breakout comedic performance from George Clooney.
Set in the Deep South during the 1930s, O Brother, Where Art Thou? chronicles the adventures of the three convicts Ulysses (Clooney), Pete (John Turturro), and Delmar (John Turturro) as they attempt to search for hidden treasure while the ruthless Sheriff Cooley (Daniel von Bargen) tries to bring them to justice. As is expected in a Coen brothers comedy, the gang of heroes meets more than a few shady and idiosyncratic characters along the way that take the story in much stranger directions. Although the exploration of the South added a fun new environment for the Coen brothers to play in, O Brother, Where Art Thou? contains many inadvertent references to the classic Greek adventure story The Odyssey.
‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ Contains Unintentional References to ‘The Odyssey’
Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey is one of the most influential adventure narratives of all time. Set after the events of the Trojan War in the Iliad, the poem follows the Greek hero Odysseus as he makes a perilous trek home to reunite with his family. Over the course of his adventure, Odysseus encounters various monsters, creatures, and villains who attempt to shake his honor. While it has not received as many direct adaptations as the Iliad, The Odyssey established a narrative framework that has been utilized by storytellers for generations. Ulysses’ character arc in O Brother, Where Art Thou? mirrors that of Odysseus in The Odyssey. Both characters set forth on an epic adventure to return home, whilst leading a group of more susceptible allies.
Each of the supporting characters in O Brother, Where Art Thou? directly correspond with figures from The Odyssey. Despite his initial loyalty to Ulysses, Pete begins to question his friend’s leadership abilities and decides to betray him. This represents Odysseus’ soldiers who abandoned him by seeking refuge in Ithaca. Similarly, Stephen Root appears as a blind radio station announcer who broadcasts updates about Ulysses’ adventures and fulfills the role of Homer as the narrator. Ulysses’ wife, Penny (Holly Hunter), continues to wait for him when he is assumed to be dead. This is the same role that Odysseus’ wife Penelope takes on in The Odyssey.
As fun as Clooney’s performance is, the Coen brothers truly excelled in using The Odyssey to inspire the villains of O Brother, Where Art Thou? Cooley is responsible for putting in motion events that impede Ulysses’ journey, similar to the aquatic danger that Poseidon causes for Odysseus in The Odyssey. John Goodman’s Big Dan, a Ku Klux Klan loyalist who poses as a Bible salesman, represents the giant from The Odyssey. Dan is even blind in one eye, to make the connection more obvious. A scene in which Ulysses, Pete, and Delmar are seduced by a group of beautiful women in a lake also parallels the emergence of the sirens in The Odyssey.
‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ Is One of the Coen Brothers’ Best Movies
While the connections to the classic Greek stories make it perfectly suited for literary buffs, neither of the Coen Brothers had actually read The Odyssey while making O Brother, Where Art Thou? The duo had been familiar with the story’s hallmarks based on its significant popular culture influence and other adaptations, but many of the more overt connections to Homer’s story were inadvertent. It speaks to the lasting influence of The Odyssey that its themes and characters continue to inspire modern adaptations, even for those unfamiliar with the original text. The only member of the cast familiar who had read the original translation was Nelson, who had a degree in classical studies from Brown University.
Ironically, O Brother, Where Art Thou? was not originally intended to be an adaptation of The Odyssey. The Coen Brothers had originally modeled the story on The Wizard of Oz, explaining that it “started as a ‘three saps on the run’ kind of movie” and originally tagged the movie with the classic line “there’s no place like home.” It was after Nelson made note of the comparisons that the Coens recognized they had inadvertently been inspired by The Odyssey, and even gave Homer credit on the adapted screenplay, which received an Academy Award nomination. Nelson stated that the Coens subsequently retrofitted the screenplay to include more overt references to mythology, as he saw that they had acquired “a copy of the fable’s translation” with an attached note that “said: ‘soon to be a motion picture by Joel and Ethan Coen.'”
Although the film was deeply entrenched in its Greek influences, the title of O Brother, Where Art Thou? was lifted from the classic Preston Sturges film Sullivan’s Travels. Sturges’ film centered on the ambitious Hollywood filmmaker John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) as he attempts to gain experience to make an adaptation of the novel O Brother, Where Art Thou? Both films explore the human condition as it develops over the course of a long journey; sequence in the Coens’ film involving prison gangs and a black church choir is a direct homage to Sturges.
‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ Isn’t the Only Coen Brothers Adaptation
While it’s certainly one of their more acclaimed films, O Brother, Where Art Thou? isn’t the only adaptation in the Coen brothers’ filmography. 2004’s The Ladykillers is a remake of the classic British comedy starring Alec Guinness, but trades the European setting for an adventure in the deep south. Joel Coen’s directorial project The Tragedy of Macbeth served as a more straightforward adaptation of William Shakespeare’s original play, as it incorporated all the original dialogue and stage directions.
It speaks to the genius of the Coen brothers that they are able to reinvent classic stories for new audiences. O Brother Where Art Thou? was a significant critical and commercial hit, indicating that both Greek studies experts and more casual viewers were enthralled by the classic story. Great movies about Greek mythology are few and far between, which makes the Coens’ achievement even more significant. The Coens may not have originally intended O Brother Art Thou? to be a tribute to Homer, but they unexpectedly introduced a new generation to one of the most famous epic poems of all time.
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