OK. Well...The Return. Sarah Michelle Gellar's latest genre addition finds her running from a cowboy with a killer past. Asif Kapadia's sophomore effort, after 2001's The Warrior, will likely disappoint more than entertain. The story is convoluted and under developed, and aside from Gellar's Joanna, we really don't have any idea why any of the other characters are there. However, in stark comparison to the other filler thrillers we have seen for years, The Return boasts excellent camera work and even better art direction and cinematography. It is told in heavy visual style, which is a refreshing take on an old tale. Twitchy camera movement heightens the suspense and paranoia of the film while the bleak colors and atmosphere add themes of isolation and desolation. Gellar is exceptional as Joanna Mills, a successful midwesterner constantly on the road to elude some painful past, not to mention the hallucinations and creepy visions she keeps enduring. It is a solid transition from horror to... something else. And while we as an audience may not have any idea what Gellar is pulling, it's certain that she does, and is making some very interesting and risky role choices which adds to her versatility. (Keep your eyes peeled for her work in Southland Tales as a porn-star come reality-television conoisseur) I am not going to bore you with the details of the story, since every other review basically regurgitates the little material there is to work with. The plot isn't bad, it's just very minimalistic and sparse on character detail, which, for an atmosphere and mood-driven film like this one, is a fatal mistake. The suspense is good, it holds enough tension to keep you entertained enough to keep watching. The supporting cast are all pretty good, no Oscar contenders here but take it for what it is. The score is effective, using violins and chimes to purvey a sense of dread and malice. The visual style is very compelling, we feel like we're in Texas, seeing this happen through a series of well thought out, well lit shots that subtley take us deeper into Joanna's psychological state. The scene where she awakes in the field is one of the best, and proves that Kapadia's second feature may not be the greatest, but started out to be a very different, innovative project that got a little muddled in post-production. A good film, I'd wait for DVD, but the creepy soundbytes and ghostly whispers won't have the same effect as in the theatre. The Return is definitely misunderstood, but for those keen enough to see it through, you will get a glimpse of isolated, lonely people just looking to connect and get over the issues that have brought them together.
