The Revenant
A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820's fights for
survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of
his own hunting team.
Director:Alejandro González Iñárritu (as Alejandro G. Iñárritu)
Writers:Mark L. Smith (screenplay), Alejandro González Iñárritu (screenplay) (as Alejandro G. Iñárritu)
Stars:Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter
Storyline
Inspired by true events, THE REVENANT captures one man's epic adventure
of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an
expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh
Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for
dead by members of his own hunting team. In a quest to survive, Glass
endures unimaginable grief as well as the betrayal of his confidant John
Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Guided by sheer will and the love of his
family, Glass must navigate a vicious winter in a relentless pursuit to
live and find redemption.
User Reviews
I went to see "The
Revenant" on the day that it was nominated for 12 Oscars, which
certainly sets the expectation that it is going to be good – and it is.
But I saw it described by DiCaprio as an "epic art-house western" and
that's a good description. In the same way that Iñárritu's "Birdman"
(this time last year) was unarguably a brilliant but not very mainstream
film, so I think the Oscar buzz will attract a big audience to this
movie who may find it a struggle to really enjoy. Because it is bleak…
unremittingly bleak, in terms of the landscape, the weather and the
motives of the characters. It is also extremely violent but, unlike "The
Hateful Eight" (another film I saw this week that was unremittingly
bleak) the violence is much more gritty, realistic and visceral making
the drama a lot more compelling.
DiCaprio plays "Hugh Glass", an
historical figure who was a legendary fur-trapper in the early 1800's
and the central figure in this bear-related yarn. Although the story has
been re-embroidered over the years, the 'facts' align with the film's
basic story (there's a good "Daily Telegraph" article outlining this -
see the link on bob-the-movie-man.com).
Attacked and pursuing by
local natives, Glass's party is striking across woodland when he is
viciously attacked by a 500lb Grizzly bear. Although appearing mortally
wounded, he is a highly respected individual and so is stretchered up by
his boss Captain Henry (Domhnall Gleeson). Unable to proceed further,
Henry pays for the mercenary John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) to stay with
him, together with his half-Pawnee son Hawk and friend Bridger (Will
Poulter), to die in peace. Predictably, Fitzgerald is not to be trusted,
and Glass is abandoned in a shallow grave. If this is not enough, for
other reasons we won't go into, Glass has even less inclination to keep
his fellow trapper on his Christmas card list. Thus is set up a classic
revenge movie, with Glass determined to stay alive to enact that revenge
despite the enormous odds stacked against him.
This is surely
DiCaprio's year for his elusive Oscar as he turns in a cripplingly
painful performance. It is clear that the suffering on screen is not all
acting – it cannot be, given the inhospitable conditions in which the
crew were filming (in Canada and Argentina). As examples he had to eat
raw bison liver as well as suffering a much discussed Han "I thought
they smelled bad on the outside" Solo moment. Despite having very few
lines to deliver, DiCaprio is on screen for 90% of the time, and it is a
bravura performance.
Tom Hardy – also Oscar nominated – is also
impressive as the villain of the piece, although for most of the time
his lines might have well been delivered through his Bain mask for the
sense they made. He is an inveterate mumbler.
Domhnall Gleeson's
performance is also compelling, adding a degree of goodness and
compassion to the film that was so missing from "The Hateful 8".
(Gleeson is surely vying this year with Ben Whishaw for the busiest
mainstream film appearances after this, "Ex Machina", "Brooklyn" and
"Star Wars"). Finally Will Poulter gets a chance to shine in an A-grade
mainstream dramatic movie and he well and truly makes that grade.
Director
Alejandro G. Iñárritu has to be commended for eschewing the use of
green screens, insisting on live performances and in natural light to
boot. Stylistically (and indeed story-wise) the film has many parallels
with "Gladiator", with its effective and artistically constructed dream
sequences. But the film is not without special effects, and these are
phenomenal, most incredibly delivered during the relentless and
gruelling bear attack scene: a seamless blend of live animal work and
effects that make it horrifically believable.
There is also some
fantastic camera work (by Emmanuel Lubezki) of the "how the hell did
they do that variety". Recalling his work in "Birdman" it's challenging
to do single tracking shots of people walking through buildings. To do
these same tracking shots during a pitched battle scene is just
phenomenal. During one scene in this harrowing sequence at the film's
start, the camera is on the ground filming a native galloping towards a
victim, then the camera is seamlessly filming the rider as he gallops
away. Astonishing.
The only area I really didn't care for was the
music, by Carsten Nicolai and Ryuichi Sakamoto. A combination of
droning strings and (later) some whiny "Ligeti-style" elements, it was
in turns intrusive, gloomy and annoying. Music should largely stay in
the background to set the mood. This didn't.
Overall, this is a
masterful film, but it is a slog and not a feel-good film to sit
through. It also has significant violence which might not suit all
viewers, with the final confrontation in particular being one of the
most visceral fight scenes I've seen in years.
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