Rent The Return (2024)
3.1 of 5 from 123 ratings
1h 51min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
After 20 years away Odysseus (Ralph Fiennes) washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The King has finally returned home but much has changed since he left to fight in the Trojan war. His beloved wife Penelope (Juliette Binoche) is now a prisoner in her own home, hounded by ambitious suitors to choose a new husband, a new king. Their son Telemachus (Charlie Plummer), is facing death at the hands of the suitors in their relendess pursuit of Penelope and the kingdom. Odysseus has changed too. Scarred by his experience of war, he is no longer the mighty warrior his people remember. But he is forced to face his past, in order to rediscover the strength needed to save his family and win back the love he has lost. - Actors:
- Charlie Plummer, Marwan Kenzari, Claudio Santamaria, Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes, Roberto Serpi, Chris Corrigan, Maxim Gallozzi, Wael Habib, Paolo de Candia, Francesco Dwight Bianchi, Jamie Andrew Cutler, Cosimo Desii, Alberto Boubakar Malanchino, Nicolas Exequiel Retrivi Mora, Fabius De Vivo, Ayman Al Aboud, Pavlos Iordanopoulos, Magaajyia Silberfeld, Ángela Molina
- Directors:
- Uberto Pasolini
- Producers:
- James Clayton, Paolo Del Brocco, Konstantinos Kontovrakis, Uberto Pasolini, Roberto Sessa
- Writers:
- John Collee, Edward Bond, Uberto Pasolini, Homer
- Aka:
- Η επιστροφή / Itaca - Il ritorno / The Return, le retour d'Ulysse
- Studio:
- Modern Films
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Drama
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 22/12/2025
- Run Time:
- 115 minutes
- Languages:
- English Audio Description, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Recorded Q&A at the British Museum with Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes, Director Uberto Pasolini, Keeper of Greece and Rome, Thomas Harrison and Curator: Reception of the Ancient Mediterranean, Vicky Donnellan
- Behind the Scenes Featurette
- UK Trailer
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Reviews (6) of The Return
Homecoming Without the Mythology - The Return review by griggs
Everyone’s gearing up for Nolan to take a swing at Homer, but this gets in first — and keeps its feet on the ground. No Cyclops, no sirens, no mythological fireworks. It’s more interested in what happens after the fighting stops, when you still have to live with yourself.
Odysseus washes up on Ithaca alive but clearly not okay, and the film sits with the hangover of survival: shock, grief, and the quiet shame that comes with making it home. Ralph Fiennes plays him like a man who’d rather stay unrecognised — guarded eyes, hunched shoulders, a body that looks like it’s still bracing for impact. Juliette Binoche holds the centre as Penelope, quietly refusing to be pushed into remarriage while the suitors loiter and the household frays.
I liked the stripped-back, no-myths approach, and the two leads do most of the heavy lifting. But once the setup is established, the film loses momentum. Some supporting strands feel thin, the editing is oddly choppy, and I ended up admiring the restraint more than feeling the ache. Worth seeing for Fiennes and Binoche — just not the gut-punch it’s aiming for.
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Painful - The Return review by Alphaville
Slow, deliberate, downbeat talkathon about Odysseus’ return from the siege of Troy to his home island of Ithaca. Director Paoslini’s deadening hand gives his actors no chance as they enunciate their lines to camera with laughably intense import. Ralph Fiennes has to emote, Juliette Binoche has to sulk. None of it is believable while the plot (such as it is) trundles along with endless court rivalries about who shall be the next king.
It’s more like a BBC heritage drama than a big-screen feature film (‘I Claudius‘ was far superior). According to the DVD Extras, Pasolini had been trying to get the script written for 30 years and the angle he chose to highlight was family dynamics. Yep, you heard right. No wonder it took so long to get the green light. One of the great sagas of ancient history reduced to the level of a stagey and inconsequential soap opera.
1 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Rather slow - The Return review by SB
For most of the film, Odysseus was deliberately going incognito, and was repeatedly scorned and abused as a nobody or a tramp. This was tiresome and did not make for a compelling film. Once he revealed and proved his identity, the film became more lively and interesting. But, by then, it was a bit too late for me - hence only 3 stars.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.