The Return, 2024,
Directed by Uberto Pasolini.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Charlie Plummer, Marwan Kenzari, Claudio Santamaria, Ángela Molina, Amir Wilson, Jamie Andrew Cutler, Moe Bar-El, Amesh Edireweera, Jaz Hutchins, Aaron Cobham, Ayman Al Aboud, Nicolas Exequiel Retrivi Mora, Giorgio Antonini, Matthew T. Reynolds, Fabius De Vivo, Magaajyia Silberfeld, Handrinou Ileana, Kaiti Manolidaki, Francesco Dwight Bianchi, Pavlos Iordanopoulos, Roberto Serpi, Stefano Santomauro, Maxim Gallozzi, Karandish Hanie, and Cosimo Desii.
SYNOPSIS:
After 20 years away Odysseus decides to come back. The King has finally returned home but much has changed in his kingdom since he left to fight in the Trojan war.
The Return is certainly an accurate title. From director Uberto Pasolini, this is an intriguingly albeit sluggish character-driven story about Greek king Odysseus’s (Ralph Fiennes) return to Ithica following his disappearance during the Trojan War. Except as he washes up ashore looking like a dirty, bearded street beggar, it is gradually revealed that he doesn’t want to come home, feeling shame and regret over the ruthless and violent man he had to become to win that war, not to mention leading countless numbers of his men to death during the sacking of Troy, something that was made possible due to his creation of a gigantic wooden horse used for sneaking past the gates.
Having been absent for ten years, Odysseus’s wife Penelope (Juliette Binoche) still refuses to accept the likelihood of his death and re-marry to one of several suitors who have shown up incessantly vying for her hand. Their son Telemachus (Charlie Plummer) has a more defeated attitude, convinced the father he never really got to know died, the peace they currently have is a façade, and his mom needs to choose one of these men soon.
These three talented performers are exceptionally tapping into the psychological toll these ten years of uncertainty and pain have taken on them. For as loyal and resilient as Penelope is, Juliette Binoche effectively conveys that somewhere inside, this woman is about to break and knows she should probably choose one of these slimy lowlifes.
Anyone with knowledge of Greek mythology is also probably aware of the creative bow-and-arrow game she uses for one of them to prove their worth. It also marks the film’s transition into something more explosive, action-based, and focused on mythology. Furthermore, the longer Penelope holds out, the more hostile and threatening some of these men become toward Telemachus, even if just as many of them wisely point out that killing him won’t get them what they want.
Until then, The Return is mostly all about that return, walking in circles around the same plot points even if it is admirable that the filmmakers (courtesy of a screenplay by Uberto Pasolini, Edward Bond, and John Collee) are more fascinated by the human stories behind the stories of war and creatures of Greek mythology. Ralph Fiennes is similarly excellent as a man who can’t bear the thought of looking his wife in the eyes after everything he has done in war, wandering around in his lowly disguise. Naturally, he increasingly becomes agitated by his wife’s predicament.
When watching two long-lost lovers reach a breaking point, the slow-burn approach works. However, The Return also feels underwritten and sits there for far too long, alongside some weak supporting characters and competently basic direction; for a film about Greek mythology, it’s disappointing that there isn’t anything visually striking here aside from how jacked Ralph Fiennes got for a role that has one action sequence. That climax is intense and satisfactory (even if it is strangely bloodless for a portion), but the journey there is frustratingly paced with stagnant storytelling.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
