Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus
The Return is a film retelling of the mythological story of the Odyssey, released in 2024, which I came to know about amidst the media frenzy surrounding Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey. This film has quite a vibrant and warm color palette. The pace is slow with few action scenes, but it shines when you can read the guilt, discomfort, rage and perseverance through the actor’s facial expressions and body language.
The Return is set after Odysseus has made his way back to Ithaca and focuses on him reconciling with his family and taking revenge on the suitors, with no appearance from gods or goddesses. I find this interpretation quite interesting. Humans against humans, with absolutely no divine intervention. That’s why this film, directed by Uberto Pasolini and adapted by Edward Bond, John Collee, and Pasolini, is more like a survival and revenge film than a mythological one. But still, it’s a nice take: very grounded and self-contained.
Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus is frighteningly calm. His body is heavily marked and veined; I guess this is the work of the character design department and makeup team, and that makes it clear at a glance that this man has endured a great deal of hardship. Juliette Binoche as Penelope always wears an unspoken sorrow on her face, but when circumstances demand, she proves time and time again to be a shrewd and proud queen. Charlie Plummer as Telemachus successfully portrays a young man who desires to prove himself but doesn’t know how. And Marwan Kenzari as Antinous makes me feel a little unease. This means the actor is good. His Antinous seems to be seething with insecurity, but at the same time, oppression. He makes me feel lucky not to be in the position of Penelope or Telemachus. There’s little dialogue in this film; much of its appeal comes from these non-verbal expressions.
A little side note: I was going to conclude by saying that if Disney were to remake their remake of Aladdin, I hoped they would cast Marwan Kenzari as Jafar. But after some checking, it turns out he already played Jafar in that film. I had to look again to make sure I wasn’t mistaken. It’s too bizarre to be real. How can the same person be so good in one movie but so bad in another? Is this what makes a talented director?