Odysseus, Where Art Thou?

As some of you may know, The Odyssey, by Homer, is "modernized" in a movie called O Brother, Where Art Thou? O Brother, Where Art Thou is set in Mississippi and starts out with the main character, Ulysses (the Greek name for Odysseus) Everett McGill, in prison (caves with Calypso) with two friends Pete and Delmar. Ulysses is able to escape the prison with his two friends and make his way back home to his wife in hope of her taking him back. But here the writers add a modern-day twist. Ulysses's wife (Penelope) is a strong female character, rather then Penelope in The Odyssey who appears to be a rather weak female character. When Ulysses finally returns home, his adventure is not over yet, he finds that his wife is already engaged to a "suitor" even though she knows Ulysses is alive and in prison. Odysseus's wife is just waiting for him and does not know what to do with the suitors and is in a state of depression. But with Ulysses's wife, she has already moved on and has thought about what is best for her children and takes action and gets engaged with a "suitor" instead of moping around like Odysseus's wife. Odysseus's wife is so dependent on her husband that it seems like she cannot do anything for herself, and she does not even know whether Odysseus is alive or not. That is why I think Odysseus's wife is a weak female character, rather then Ulysses's wife. On a separate note, I am not entirely sure who Telemachus is suppose to be in the movie at this point, because Ulysses has five daughters and a son in the movie and the son is a little boy, who does not have much relevance to the movie. But as we read on, I am sure I will be able to tell which character in the movie resembles Telemachus in the book. But if I where to make any guesses I would guess Ulysses's friend Delmar, who is described as "sweet, dimwitted" (summary of the movie on the DVD back), because Telemachus is a sweet character in the book and does not seem to be the smartest person in the world. If anyone who has seen the movie and has any idea please share.