Movie review: ‘Return to Sender’

Rosamund Pike and Shiloh Fernandez throw themselves into their characters with such gusto in Return to Sender that, at times, it’s easy to forget that the film itself is forgettable.

Pike is Miranda Wells, a perfectionist, germaphobe, critical-care nurse who agrees to go on a blind date with a friend of a friend. It turns into a nightmare after she’s raped by William (Fernandez). For the rest of the film, in which she seems intent on befriending her attacker in prison, the audience is left to wonder if she really has mentally gone off the rails (as her dad, played by Nick Nolte, thinks) or if it’s an elaborate plot for revenge.

But it takes a long time for director Fouad Mikati and writers Patricia Beauchamp and Joe Gossett to get to a conclusion that doesn’t feel worth the time or energy. What little spark the film gives has comes from Fernandez and, especially, Pike who veers among rage, fear and calculation with equal fervor. But they aren’t enough to save Return to Sender from the junk mail pile.

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This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 11:01 AM with the headline "Movie review: ‘Return to Sender’."