This Ralph Fiennes Ancient Greek Epic Is The Perfect ‘Odyssey’ Replacement

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Odyssey and The Return.

Christopher Nolan’s new Homeric epic, The Odyssey, has emerged as a critical and box office smash. Thanks to its success, other Odyssey stories are rising in the streaming charts, too. One such movie is The Return, another retelling of Homer’s epic poem that’s been surging up the charts of Just Watch. Starring Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus, The Return boasts an impressive cast and a fresh take on the original story’s ending. If you loved Nolan’s fantasy adventure epic, here’s why The Return should be your next watch.

‘The Return’ Begins After Odysseus’ Journey Ends

Although Christopher Nolan’s version of The Odyssey adapts a more robust version of Homer’s poem, The Return takes an alternative approach to the source material. John Collee, Edward Bond, and director Uberto Pasolini’s script focuses entirely on Odysseus’ return home and the retaking of his kingdom. The movie begins with a haggard and exhausted Odysseus waking up on the shores of his homeland of Ithaca, only to find it in ruins and at the mercy of dastardly suitors who exploit Queen Penelope’s (Juliette Binoche) hospitality, as they attempt to take her hand in marriage and become the new king. Disguising himself as a beggar, Odysseus observes the situation and tries to find the strength to retake his homeland. However, he’s still mentally traumatized by the horrors of the Trojan War.

As The Return and The Odyssey adapt the same source material, viewers can recognize similar scenes in both versions, taken from Homer’s poem, and it’s interesting to see how the movies interpret those moments differently . For example, in both movies, Odysseus’ hunting dog Argos recognizes his old master Odysseus outside the royal palace before passing away from old age. The scene of the servant, Eurycleia, recognizing the scar on Odysseus’ leg while washing him also appears in both movies. However, since The Return’s entire narrative focuses on Odysseus’ return to Ithaca, it takes a slow-burn style, rather than the more ramped-up pacing of Nolan’s version.

Ralph Fiennes Delivers an Excellent Performance as the Haunted Hero

While watching both The Return and Nolan’s The Odyssey, one can easily recognize emotional parallels in Ralph Fiennes and Matt Damon’s respective versions of Odysseus. Both men are haunted by their experiences during the Trojan War, and both movies portray Odysseus’ inability to return home to Ithaca for years due to the trauma of the journey. As shown in The Odyssey, Damon’s Odysseus spends seven years on Calypso’s (Charlize Theron) island, eating lotus flowers in an attempt to forget the atrocities of the Trojan War. Damon’s Odysseus gravely fears the fallout from his actions after breaking the sacred bonds of men and the trust of Zeus’ law due to his trick with the Trojan horse.

Although Fiennes’ version of Odysseus is equally traumatized by the Trojan War, his nuanced approach is more akin to survivor’s guilt. Fiennes’ Odysseus doesn’t just feel guilty about the atrocities committed during the war; he also suffers with the fact that he survived while all of his soldiers perished. In the movie’s final moments, as Penelope confronts her husband about his long absence, Odysseus expresses his fear that she would no longer love the man he had become during the war. Fiennes and Binoche showcase exceptional pathos in their portrayals of Odysseus and Penelope, as they share a bittersweet, compassionate forgiveness in the movie’s emotionally hopeful and rewarding ending.

‘The Return’ Presents an Alternative Take on ‘The Odyssey’

Raplh Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, embracing each other, as Odysseus and Penelope in 'The Return' — Raplh Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, embracing each other, as Odysseus and Penelope in ‘The Return’

The Return takes a granular approach to Odysseus returning to Ithaca, as the broken and despondent ruler must rediscover his strength to retake his ruined homeland. It results in a tighter, leaner, and more personalized adaptation of Homer’s poem. The Nolan version diverges from the poem and paints a grander, epic view by depicting the fallout from the Trojan War, as Damon’s Odysseus concludes his actions poisoned humanity, bringing about the fall of the Bronze Age and the start of the Dark Ages. He also fears his actions will spread to Ithaca, ruining his beloved homeland. Meanwhile, in The Return, Odysseus returns to Ithaca, with his home already a ruined “wasteland,” as the suitors attack and terrorize the people and civilians. However, that’s more a byproduct of the suitors acting out in Odysseus’ absence and the lack of a strong ruler to keep the bullying suitors in line, rather than Odysseus’ trick with the Trojan Horse causing a chain reaction that spreads to the rest of the world, bringing about the downfall of civilization.

Obviously, Nolan utilizes a much larger budget and canvas to work with for his $250 million fantasy epic, but The Return still provides a rewarding cinematic experience. Fiennes and Binoche bring a grounded, sobering reality to their performances as frayed yet forgiving versions of Odysseus and Penelope. The Return presents a contemplative emotional story about returning home from war and the way a husband and wife come to terms with how the experience changed them. It’s also deeply interesting to watch The Return after enjoying Nolan’s big-budget, engrossing, immersive version, recognizing parallel themes about the horror and trauma caused by war and conflict. The Return should be your next binge option after you watch The Odyssey.