The Revenant
If ever there was a movie that clearly displays the utter brutality of nature untamed, it is the new film from Alejandro Iñárritu, The Revenant. The word is derived from the French word "revenir", to return. It means one who has returned, sometimes one who has returned from the dead, a ghost.Leonardo DiCaprio, in one of his best roles ever, plays Hugh Glass, an experienced guide and trapper, as he struggles to return to civilization after being severely mauled by a grizzly bear in 1823.
Glass and some of his fellow trappers had barely escaped a massacre at the hands of a tribe of natives searching for the chief's kidnapped daughter. The group of around ten manage to evade the natives, but are hamstrung when Glass is mauled. He is in bad shape and needs to be carried on a stretcher.
The group's leader, Captain Henry, decides to leave Glass behind with Glass's son Hawk and two other men, Jim Bridger and John Fitzgerald. The latter is a loud-mouthed, cussing misanthrope who had suggested killing Glass who looked like he was done for anyway. He assures Henry he will look after Glass and give him a decent burial if he succumbs.
After they are left alone, Fitzgerald tries to smother Glass in a shallow grave and is stopped by Hawk. Fitzgerald kills Hawk and dupes Bridger into believing Hawk ran off and Glass died. The two leave the injured Glass and escape.
The movie is based on Michael Punke's book The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge and the rest of the movie centers around the half-dead Glass, who witnessed his son's murder, doggedly pursuing Fitzgerald while fighting the elements - blizzards, ice-cold streams, rescuing the chief's daughter from a gang of French fur trappers and escaping on one of their horses, and another encounter with Indians which sees him and his horse driven over a cliff which he survives in a rather gruesome fashion.
Along the way he meets a friendly Pawnee who becomes a victim of the racist Frenchmen. Indeed, the brutality of his fellow men contends with the brutality of nature as something to overcome. Fitzgerald in particular is a piece of work (excellently portrayed by Tom Hardy). The climactic ending is a dramatic struggle to the death between Glass and Fitzgerald.
The movie is sparse on dialogue. But it is heavy on cinematography, perhaps some of the most thrilling and beautiful natural scenery on film. Nature is as beautiful as it is dangerous.
I found this movie to be both brutal and enthralling. I detested Iñárritu's Oscar winning Birdman last year. But this film is an entirely different kettle of fish. A powerful film of a man's struggle against the elements and against the lurid underbelly of civilization. It is said that civilization is held together by a thin veneer. This film shows how true that is.
It is long at about two and a half hours. Some scenes may be too gruesome for some. But Glass's struggles and resourcefulness are truly an inspiration.
Oscar Prediction: Nominations for the Oscars haven't been released yet. But this film won Best Dramatic Film at the Golden Globes this week. It could well do the same at the Oscars. Leonardo DiCaprio won the Best Actor in a Drama award and could well repeat at the Oscars. His performance is outstanding. Alejandro Iñárritu won the Globe for Best Director and could take the Oscar as well. Tom Hardy was not nominated for a Supporting Actor Golden Globe, but his performance is certainly worth consideration for the Oscars. But if there is any award this film should win, in my opinion, it is cinematography. Emmanuel Lubezki won last year for Birdman and could repeat for The Revenant.
The Revenant Official Website
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