User Reviews

I recently got a look at this film at a private screening and was surprised that I actually liked it. This type of movie is usually not my cup of tea but I try to be open to all genres, types, and directing styles. Being a fairly serious movie goer and appreciator, I found the writing and storyline of The Return done well. Although there is slight religious overtones throughout, I didn't find it repulsive, and I didn't leave the theater either ! It was obvious to me that there wasn't a high budget involved in the making of this movie, but what was done was done well and convincingly. There was a good balance of sucking different emotions out of you, particularly the more lighter, funnier moments, which were in proportion to the rest of the movie. Tracy Garner's writing skills were obvious to me right from one of the beginning scenes with Rowe Mcdonald's farewell to his missionary friends. Tracy Garner also showed talent as an actor with his part as the sort of obnoxious jerk Scottie Patterson. It's worth seeing. I'm looking forward to Mr.Amundsen and Mr.Garner's next movie.

This movie does a good job at demonstrating the creators love their craft and really try to create art, rather than you stereotypical Christian genre movie that is just clearly a low effort cash grab. I enjoyed the concept of someone being given a second chance and not suddenly being perfect. They kept making the same mistakes over and over again and the more effort he put in to trying to do what he thought he should, the more he messed things up. (Spoilers) That is, until the end where he finally has a realization of what everything was about and for, and he stops trying to force his will, instead to just love fully for who they were as they are. Then miraculously everything works out. I've seen this done before and it's usually pretty cringe and feels like it's a forced happy ending, but this movie did a solid job at making it feel natural and had good reasoning to happen the way it did. Bit of a tear jerker if I do say so myself, but maybe I'm just a sucker for happy/sad endings.

This movie does have it's faults. If I was watching it with someone, I might have felt a little more aware that the slower scenes were a bit awkward, but because I was alone I got to just enjoy and admire the passion and the artistic choices of the movie. These decisions were clearly made intentionally, and it shows through in its quality and style.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. And more than I expected to, to be honest. 8/10. Would watch again.

So it's supposed to be a movie about a Mormon missionary getting a chance to be a better person on his return, but they forgot some very important things. First, there is no missionary that would return and be alone in a house with his fiancée. Being a returned missionary myself, I can tell you, for sure, that no returned missionary would be that comfortable even being around a girl. True, it seems that they are supposed to be together, but there's not a single case where they would even come close to the susceptible temptation. What's more, why hang out in a bar, night after night, where there's temptation abounding, to talk to a mom who is clearly troubled? I mean, yes, the mom learning the gospel is nice, but he spent most of the 60 days messing everything up and leaving himself in the path of temptation when he was supposed to learn what he needed to learn.