Universal recently announced the next film of Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan (Inception, Oppenheimer), arguably the most recognised filmmaker today, will be a $250 million epic retelling of The Odyssey, a famous work attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer.  Filming is now underway with a “who’s who of Hollywood” cast including Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, and Anne Hathaway.  It’s an ambitious project even by Nolan’s standards and it’s scheduled for July 2026 release.

That news wouldn’t have been too exciting for the producers of The Return, a lower budget drama also based on Homer’s poem.  It makes their film a tougher sell.  Why see this when you wait for a flashier version next year?  Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche take the two leading roles, and it marks their first time together on screen since 1996’s The English Patient.  Fiennes plays Odysseus, the heroic king of Ithaca who went missing in battle many years ago, and Binoche plays Penelope, his grieving queen who is urged to remarry by her many suitors.

Directed by Italian Uberto Pasolini (Still Life), The Return has a Shakespearean-like quality.  It’s like watching a stage show where actors pause after each line – as if they’re trying to “sell themselves” to the audience and make the material easy to understand.  I don’t think it works in this case.  Yeah, I realise it’s a story of Greek myth, but I’d have preferred a more relaxed, spontaneous approach with character interactions.  That creates realism which in turn generates emotion.

Pasolini, working with screenwriters John Collee and Edward Bond, also struggle with the adaptation from page to screen.  The central premise is that Odysseus, following the Trojan War, has returned to Ithaca for the first time in two decades and yet no one, including his wife, is able to recognise film.  Really?  We understand why Odysseus initially keeps a low profile (he’s torn after losing so many men in battle) but the rebuild of his own self-confidence is another messy element that doesn’t fully make sense.  The one-dimensional suitors, who serve as the film’s “villains”, are the weakest element and there’s almost nothing to differentiate them in terms of personality and mindset.

Fans of Fiennes and Binoche may wish to give it a look but my advice for the moment – hold out until 2026 and see what Christopher Nolan serves up.