The Return Review: Restrained Revenge Tale

Restraint is the name of the game in Uberto Pasolini’s The Return. The final chapters of “The Odyssey” come to life in a unique and faithful way.

Penelope (Juliette Binoche, The Taste of Things) is beset by suitors, now that her husband Odysseus (Ralph Fiennes, Conclave) has been gone for twenty years. Each day they gather, led by Antinous (Marwan Kenzari, Black Adam) and Pisander (Tom Rhys Harries, The Gentlemen), hoping to convince her through charm with an underlying sense of violence, that they should be the new king. Her son, Telemachus (Charlie Plummer, National Anthem), is wary of these men but is ultimately too weak to effectively protect his mother.

As Penelope continues weaving and then unmaking a cloth that she promises will be her wedding cloak, a stranger washes up on the shore. While he roams Ithaca as a beggar, we understand that it is Odysseus, fearful of returning to his wife and his place in the kingdom as he returns without his army. But as the story reaches its climax with the stringing of the bow, it becomes impossible for Odysseus to cloak his royalty or his rage any longer.

The Return is a masterclass in restraint. It is apparent in every aspect of the film, from the sets, the costumes, and the performances, to something as simple as the way the story unfolds. Everything simmers under the surface in this faithful retelling of the final chapters of “The Odyssey,” though sometimes it feels like it is a bit too far under the surface to allow the tension to build.

The pacing of the story is slow and methodical. Nothing is rushed in this retelling that comes in at 116 minutes. For some viewers, this languid stroll to the climax may feel excruciatingly dull, and to others deliciously tense. There are long stretches of silence in this film, and the sparse nature of the set and costume design adds to that, forcing the viewer to sit with their feelings about what is happening.

That quiet allows the actors to give some beautiful, yet understated performances. Binoche has a regal demeanor about her as she calmly puts off her suitors day after day. If anything, her part felt underwritten for an actor of her caliber. Kenzari is wonderful as Antinous. For the most part, he is there, leading who are left of the men in Ithaca, and all in the service of the queen. But all of that is played with just an edge of menace, as his patience wears thin, only ever bubbling up once when he discovers that Penelope has been tearing apart the work that she does each day on her cloth.

But The Return is Odysseus’s story, and Fiennes gives an incredible performance. He captures the fear and grief of coming home after a war. Even as he begins to plot his revenge against the suitors, that sadness is present, keeping everything from running off the rails. His absolutely ripped physique is impressive, but it is a powerful contrast to his broken spirit. When he unleashes his vengeance, it is less about the orgy of violence, but rather about his almost mechanical-like commitment to thwarting his enemy, an interesting take on the way that military experience can create a complete disconnect from what someone is feeling.

There is an expectation of how revenge tales will play out, fueled in part by the wild success of the John Wick series. The Return is a quiet, controlled exploration of the ravages of war, not on a country, but on a single man.

The Return will be released in US theaters on December 6, 2024.