Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Return to Sender’

Written by Scott Edwards 

​It is always good to be looking forward in life, so you have a good idea of where you are going. If you do not have a plan for the future, you might not know what you really want and could possibly get stuck in one facet of life. Keeping an eye on your past is good as well, but most of the time we let our past define us as a person and that might not be who we really are. Being able to move forward with your life and not letting your past hold you back could lead to a better and more entertaining life than most of us could expect.

Miranda Wells is a great nurse and has been trying for some time to be promoted to a surgeon. Knowing that this is her dream her co-workers also try to help her out with her life outside of work since she never seems to have anyone in her personal life. Although Miranda thinks that this is silly, she agrees to be set up on a blind date with a friend’s friend but has no idea what could happen. With her steady hands and sound mind, Miranda is well on her way to making her life move forward to where she wants it to be and is not backing off for any reason. 

While preparing for her date, she hears someone on her porch and assumes that it is her date. Although he is early, Miranda invites him into her house to talk for a while, but when the conversation starts going south, she asks the stranger to leave. But he will not leave and takes advantage of his strength over Miranda and assaults her in her kitchen. With only her father to take care of her, Miranda starts to recover, but her life has changed drastically from that day. Now, she is not able to sell her house because of what has happened within its walls, and her regularly steady hands are not so steady, anymore. With her surgery job on the line, she needs to find a way to get back to the woman that she was, but that is easier said than done.

Thinking that the only way to get her life back is to show the beast that she is not afraid of him, Miranda starts to visit her attacker in prison on a regular basis. William Finn does not look like the predator that he was when he took advantage of her and is working hard on his rehabilitation. Knowing that the only thing in his life that he is good at is messing up and fixing it later, Miranda buys into his sob story and keeps coming in to find out more about her attacker. When William tells her that he is about to be paroled, Miranda has to come to the decision if she will ever want to see him again. Arriving at her house upon his release, William is looking to make things right by fixing it, and Miranda has a plan to keep him at arm’s length while building her porch. Watching what is happening with his daughter, Miranda’s father is upset with what she is doing, but she is a strong girl and has never caved under pressure before and according to her, now is not that time.

Not really the type of movie that floats my boat, but this one has surprised me nonetheless. It's a good character study into Miranda’s mind as her life has taken a detour, not by choice, but by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. When more about her history comes to light, it is evident that she will never be the victim, no matter what the situation is. With her only goal of getting back to who she was before the attack, she finds ways to make it better in her own mind and a plate of revenge is not too far off from being served when all is said and done. Happy Viewing.

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