The author Max Zorn, now in his early 60s, is on a promotional book tour in New York when he meets up again with the woman he could never forget. They spend a weekend together. 17 years have passed. Can there be a future for their past?
"Return to Montauk" is Volker Schlöndorff's tasteful, high-minded Euro-literate version of a Lifetime Movie - and I mean that (mostly) as a compliment.
What energy the picture had in New York's literary world dissipates as the film turns into the kind of conversation which is only really interesting for the two people it concerns.
There is also little palpable chemistry between Skarsgard and either of his love interests - making it a challenge to invest in either storyline - which is completely the opposite to Brooklyn, where we couldn't decide which we wanted more.
Wolff cuts a fascinating if frustrating figure, and you wish the film would spend a bit more time teasing out who she is, how she lives, and what she sees in a bore like Max.
