"Return to Innocence" is a prevailing film about child abuse, seen from the perspective of its main character, Tommy Jackson. The movie has a documentary feel to it, and the story of a misguided kid growing up in a 'boy's home' youth shelter is nothing new, but the performances here make this a little more than just another movie about a troubled childhood. Tommy Jackson (Andrew Martin, 13, in a tremendous role) is placed into New Horizons with other abused and neglected teens. The struggle for Dr. Erskine is finding this boy's innocence hidden underneath his quiet and demoralized exterior. Erskine truly cares for the boys and is openly close to Tommy, but it is this closeness that makes him vulnerable. The fact is made very clear that children can and do lie without realizing the consequences of their falsehood. Erskine gets a first hand look at the power of a false accusation and we the audience get to come along for the ride.
Return to Innocence is not as hard-hitting as it could be, but it's still honest and straightforward. It never strives for cheap sentimentality, either, as it's moments of power seem to draw from real-life itself. Although the ending is rather open-ended, leaving you wondering if the implication is positive or negative, the director's message is absoultely present, and it personally set up a 45-minute conversation among the group of people I watched the movie with.
