This is a tricky one and really comes down to personal interpretation! And that goes for portrayals of both Menelaus and Helen, so people may agree or disagree with everything I say here. Many people today seem to lean towards an interpretation of Menelaus and Helen genuinely loving each other and being forcibly separated by the horrific crime of her kidnap. It’s a nice viewpoint which allows for a happy ending after all the violence and tragedy of the Trojan War. However there are lots of interpretations - some that Menelaus is more concerned with the insult to his honour than the mistreatment of his wife, some that Helen was enchanted to love Paris by Aphrodite and was a victim of both gods and men, or some in which she went willingly (both of which can be represented in The Iliad). In the ancient epics themselves we see a few different versions of Helen which can filter into all these interpretations - for example, in the Iliad we see her disparaging Paris in Troy while reminiscing about a time in which she did love him, and she also has a warm friendship with Hector and King Priam; in later accounts she is also said to be forced into a marriage with Paris’ brother after his death, as well as helping the Greeks sack Troy. On top of this, modern eyes look back on the whole situation and interpret the treatment of Helen as a woman being abused by men from all sides for their own selfish gain, Greek and Trojan. That particularly is a viewpoint I tend to personally adhere to, but I also see merit in other interpretations too and other people will feel differently.

However, in terms of Nolan’s new Odyssey film, I personally didn’t like his depiction of Menelaus and Helen because it contradicts what we read in The Odyssey itself. When Telemachus arrives at their palace, he is welcomed warmly by both and Helen is very much treated with honour as the queen. She and Menelaus appear to be living in harmony, no matter what may have happened during the war. Having her consistently punished through abuse and disfigurement by Menelaus in the film is not true to the story, and to me felt untrue because of who Helen is supposed to be - she is valued by men for her beauty (whether or not I find that repugnant being irrelevant) and so the idea that they would damage that beauty in any way seems wildly out of character; after all, she is the living embodiment of their victory at Troy. As well as that, she is the daughter of Zeus, king of the gods, and no one would dare treat her in that way for fear of his wrath. The abuse she suffers in the film is certainly true to that of many women, but not of this particular woman.

Sorry for the long reply. This is a very basic outline of the topic and I hope not confusing 😂 I hope it helps a bit!