Rent The Return (2024)

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.

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.