The Return ★★

ONCE again, Ralph Fiennes is the best thing about a film that fails to reach any heights.

In fact Uberto Pasolini’s retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, The Return, is a pretty turgid affair all round.

Fiennes plays the historic hero Odysseus who washes up back on the shores of his home island of Ithaca after two decades away fighting in the Trojan Wars.

Odysseus is found by villagers who tend to his wounds, but he is clearly suffering even more from psychological trauma caused by his sustained war experiences.

Meanwhile, Odysseus’ long-suffering family are under siege back in their own home. Penelope, played by Juliette Binoche, is fighting off a range of suitors who want to become the new king on the assumption that Odysseus has died in battle. Her son Telemachus (Christopher Plummer) is in even more danger and facing death at the hands of those who see him as a threat.

After what seems an eternity of quiet soul-searching Odysseus eventually returns to restore order.

Despite its pedigree, this is a slow film with a slight script, made even nondescript by a clear lack of budget.

It was filmed in Greece and Italy but you largely wouldn’t know it from the pedestrian use that Pasolini and his cinematographer make of the locations and settings.

Perhaps this telling is more realistic, but entertainment value is sadly lacking.

Watched at the cinema.