Return
Focus World | Release Date: February 3, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
4
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Total FilmJames MottramMar 26, 2012
Reversing his "Take Shelter" role, Michael Shannon convinces as her grounded husband and "Mad Men's" John Slattery offers good support as a fellow vet. But this is Cardellini's film, and she dominates with a terrific, tough-minded turn. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinFeb 13, 2012
There are a couple of hundred instances in which Johnson or her actors could take condescending short cuts and slip into white-trash stereotypes, but I didn't see any - only gifted performers vanishing into their characters, refusing to pass judgment. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorAndy KleinFeb 10, 2012
Shannon chalks up another line on his rapidly growing résumé of memorable performances. But it's mostly Cardellini's show – she's in every scene. Her portrayal may at first seem opaque, as though she isn't quite sure who Kelli is. But that is, of course, the point. Kelli isn't quite sure who Kelli is. Read full review
50
New York PostLou LumenickFeb 10, 2012
Return comes briefly to life when John Slattery of "Mad Men'' turns up as an acerbic yet sympathetic reclusive drunk whom Kelli meets during court-mandated rehab. But it's not enough for a film that limps along to a pretty much preordained climax. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenFeb 9, 2012
With its modest scale and sharp observations, writer-director Liza Johnson's first feature has the quiet impact of a short story. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen HoldenFeb 9, 2012
In this stratum of Middle American society during wartime and hardship, the movie suggests, life is tough and challenging. You admire these characters for their considerable resilience while understanding that even the best-intentioned people can break under the stress. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierFeb 9, 2012
Johnson's feel for the rhythms of reconnection are steady, and she and her fine actors make Return one of only a handful of films to honestly address what to many is heartbreaking reality. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayFeb 8, 2012
Return is unusually attuned to its protagonist's alienation, which is especially painful because its source isn't some horrendous event she witnessed, but the hundreds of annoying aspects of everyday life. Read full review
25
ObserverRex ReedFeb 8, 2012
Ms. Cardellini plays it like a zombie, and she isn't helped by all the loitering camera angles and repetitive close-ups of her head framed against car windows. It's a worthy subject, ploddingly explored in a film that is too modest for its own good. Read full review
50
Village VoiceNick PinkertonFeb 7, 2012
Firmly in the unassuming indie vein, Return treads lightly and leaves little imprint. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfFeb 7, 2012
Return is almost too underdramatized to seem like a piece of today's zoomy entertainment, but its anxieties-the bare cupboards, the vague sense of purposelessness-are at the heart of the American experience for many. It's what indie filmmaking ought to be. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerFeb 6, 2012
As director Liza Johnson understands, simply being over there changes someone, no matter if anything unusually traumatic happened to the person. Read full review
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63 Critic Reviews

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