Short film review | Returned

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A psychologist is forced to face her past trauma in the middle of her grocery shop. Here’s our review of Returned which played at HollyShorts London Film Festival.

I think we can all agree that NHS workers are not just underpaid, but often underappreciated. It’s easy to forget that behind their work titles, there’s a real human being, with real troubles and problems. This is exactly the premise of Janet Marrett’s Returned.

Michelle Greenidge plays Zoe, an NHS psychologist, who is overwhelmed and tired by the end of her last session of the day. She heads out to the shop to get some dinner and her stepdad’s medication, and posts something on the communal notice board while she’s at it. Zoe is clearly struggling, and when a previous patient runs up to her, it takes all her might to ask her to just stop.

Returned is a short that inserts us into a very specific situation without much information or background. Zoe gets upset after seeing a young lad leaving the shop and runs after him, but we’re not entirely sure why. It can be a little frustrating, and I found myself frowning for most of the film’s runtime.

Read more: Short film review | Cry Like A Guy

Greenidge is convincing and compelling as Zoe, which certainly helps with how effective Returned ends up being. It’s an important reminder that we never know what someone has going on behind the scenes, and that everyone has a breaking point. Returned is short and sweet – perhaps a little too short. They say you should always leave your audience wanting more, but this could have offered a tad extra to meet its dramatic potential.

Returned screened as part of the HollyShorts London Film Festival 2024.

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