The Return is a 2024 film adaptation of the second half of Homer’s Odyssey, directed by Uberto Pasolini, from a script by Edward Bond and John Collee. Gone is all the fantasy: no sea monsters; no Gods. This film is Odysseus’s return. It begins with his broken body washed up on the shores of Ithica, twenty years after he left it for the Trojan war, and charts his personal journey back to regaining his wife, his son and his Kingdom. I will not provide any plot detail – who am I to add my interpretation to one of the most famous stories in literature.

The influence of Edward Bond is clear from the very beginning, and the film is all the better for it: the storytelling is clear, powerful and highly effective and, importantly, remains true to its source. At times, the film resembled a piece of theatre, with the director not afraid to linger on the faces of the characters, allowing us to travel with them on their own psychological journeys.

Ralph Fiennes gives a towering performance as Odysseus, retaining the power of the great warrior, all muscle and sinew, but showing the fatigue of every day of those twenty years, a ravaged older man, with neither the raw energy nor the recklessness of his youth. Juliette Binoche gives a quiet dignity to his long-suffering wife Penelope, who not only had to wait ten years for him as he fought at Troy, but a further ten as he journeyed home. Having no idea whether he was alive or dead, she waited desperately for news, whilst fighting off the unwanted attentions of the suitors who had gathered in the hope of winning both her favour and her fortune.

The Return is also a return for Fiennes and Binoche themselves – it is almost thirty years since they last acted together in Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient.

Unfortunately, whilst the two central performances were spellbinding, the supporting cast were somewhat inconsistent in places. Charlie Plummer was only adequate as their son, Telemachus, and the suitors were something of a mixed bag, although Marwan Kenzari added a degree of light and shade to Antonius, the leader of the pack.

In summary, this is a very good retelling of the final half of the Odyssey, well scripted, well directed and with two wonderful central performances. The storytelling and direction are well paced, allowing the plot to breathe whilst never dragging. If you like Homer’s story, you will love this film.