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Return To Montauk review [Berlinale]: Dir. Volker Schlondorff (2017)

Return To Montauk review: Volker Schlondorff directs Stellan Skarsgard and Nina Hoss in this slow-moving romantic drama debuting at the 2017 Berlinale.

Return To Montauk review by Paul Heath at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival.

Return To Montauk review

Return To Montauk review

The opening to Return To Montauk sees Stellan Skarsgard deliver an impressive five-minute monologue to camera, a speech about love that has been lost, regrets and Plato, which sets the scene for this bitter-sweet romantic drama.

The film revolves around Skarsgard’s character of Max Zorn,  a sixty-something writer who is visiting New York on a book tour. There, he is reunited with his wife Clara, who is working on the American publication of said novel, a personal tale revolving around a failed love affair. While there, in between readings, Max seeks out German lawyer Rebecca (Nina Hoss), now a native of the city, who is clearly the subject of the novel. It is revealed that the pair had a relationship many years previously. Clearly on his mind after writing the intimate tale, Max arranges to meet with her, and after a little reluctance, the pair agree to spend some time together to see if there they have any chance of any kind of relationship.

Return To Montauk review

Return To Montauk review

The film relocates to Montauk (as the title suggests), a small coastal town 80 miles outside of New York City where Rebecca has arranged to view a house, a property that she is possibly looking to purchase. Clearly somewhere where the two spent some time as a couple, Max decides to join her on the day trip, looking at it as an opportunity to rekindle some of the magic that they enjoyed together, as well as potentially open old wounds.

Filmmaker Volker Schlondorff directs this slow-burner, a film that has some positive elements, one of them being the two excellent performances of its two lead actors in Skarsgard and Hoss, two star-crossed former lovers that attempt to reconnect. While they are both good, one can’t help but notice Skarsgard’s potential miscasting in the role of Zorn. It’s difficult to be certain of his character and his motivations throughout. Zorn’s dialogue is written as if it is straight from the pages of novel, and none of it is believable.

Return To Montauk review

Return To Montauk review

The pacing is fine for a 100-minute movie, but the actual return to Montauk itself doesn’t come until around an hour in, which by that time one starts to drift off. This is all such a shame as I’m a huge fan of everyone involved.

Return To Montauk review by Paul Heath, February 2017.

Return To Monatuk plays in-competition at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival.

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