On Demand Weekly

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: RETURN (Focus World).

RETURN

By Chris Claro

RETURN, written and directed by Liza Johnson, opens with a shot of a decidedly unglamorous Linda Cardellini (FREAKS AND GEEKS) as Kelli, in combat fatigues, warily ascending an escalator in an airport. As her husband and daughters greet her, Kelli appears both frightened and exhilarated at the prospect of her homecoming, returning to a familiar situation that has become alien. A National Guardswoman who keeps the goodwill of her friends and family at bay by reminding those close to her that “a lot of people had it worse” than she did, Kelli finds, as many movie soldiers have before her, that

coming home can be even more devastating

than going to war.

Linda Cardellini / RETURN (Focus World)

Johnson keeps Kelli’s story intimate, a finely-wrought character study of the stress imposed on a family when war tears it apart, if only temporarily. Within days of her return Kelli angrily quit her job, begins to suspect her husband of having an affair, and finds herself in rehab to avoid jail. When her behavior puts her kids in danger, her husband has no choice but to leave with them.

John Slattery / RETURN (Focus World)

Cardellini plays Kelli as someone dealing with intense pain, but displacing it and in the process, alienating everyone around her. Cardellini’s portrayal is subtle and nuanced, delineating Kelli’s despair without spelling it out. She foregoes histrionics in favor of suppressed rage as she pushes away friends, family, and employers, finding a kindred spirit only after she’s thrust into rehab, in fellow veteran Bud. Played, in a true departure from his MAD MEN persona, by John Slattery, the shambling, easygoing Bud recognizes the turbulence that plagues Kelli and their scenes together are some of the film’s most affecting.

Linda Cardellini, Michael Shannon / RETURN (Focus World)