The Revenant

The Revenant

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter

Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu

The Story:
In 1823, a group of men searching for pelts to sell come under attack by the Arikara tribe, whose leader is searching for his daughter who was taken.  Most of the men are killed, but some manage to get on a boat and sail away.

Under the leadership of Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson), he takes the advice of expert tracker Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) to ditch the boat and travel on foot, which upsets John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), who has a dissenting opinion.  While out searching for animals, Glass is viciously attacked by a grizzly bear and near death.  As the group try to carry the critically injured Glass, they learn the Arikara are right on their heels, and Henry makes the difficult decision to leave Glass behind, with Fitzgerald, young trapper Bridger (Will Poulter), and Glass's Native American son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) behind.

As they wait for Glass to die, Fitzgerald grows impatient and kills Hawk before burying Glass alive and leaving.  Having been left for dead, Glass manages to crawl out of his makeshift tomb and, fueled with vengeance, manages to make his way through the unforgiving frozen countryside in order to track down and bring Fitzgerald to justice.

The Synopsis:
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu gifted the world last year with the stellar "Birdman," and garnered an Oscar for his efforts.  Some wondered if this was a fluke, a one-time deal.  All those criticisms were silenced with the release of "The Revenant," which somehow managed to take Iñárritu's talent and take it to the next level.  Not only that, but this might be the film in which Leonardo DiCaprio finally earns his much maligned Oscar.

What makes "The Revenant" (which means "one that returns after death or long absence") utterly amazing isn't just one aspect, but the entirety.  From the acting, to the story, the costumes, the editing, the cinematography, everything about this movie screams excellence and demands you to view it.

The story is compelling as it simplistic.  There's not a lot of dialogue throughout the film, but what is spoken is as important as anything else in the film.  At the heart of the movie is the internal struggle of a man who yearns for revenge, but also understands that, in the end, "revenge is in God's hands, not mine."  Yet, it's this thirst for revenge that fuels Glass's desire to live despite the most dire of circumstances.  As he hobbles across the harsh, lavish, unforgiving world, he's guided by not only his vengeance, but his love for his family that he's lost.

Throughout the film, Glass hears the voice of his long-deceased wife, and remembers a story she tells him about the trees:
"As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight.  You breathe.  Keep breathing.  When there is a storm, and you stand in front of a tree, if you look at its branches, you swear it will fall.  But if you watch the trunk, you will see its stability."
This story is told throughout the film, and not just in voice.  You associate both Glass and Fitzgerald with the view of a tree.  Glass, from all outward appearances, appears ready to fall.  However, his trunk - his base - is stable, and even though it looks like he'll fall, he stands.  With Fitzgerald, he seems to be standing tall, but his trunk is unstable, and he becomes more and more ready to topple.   Iñárritu also uses a visual cue for this story, as several shots show the trees and how they sway and bend in the wind, and hearing as they're about to topple over - but they remain tall, just like Glass.  It's a beautiful, haunting image.

Iñárritu famously decided to film "The Revenant" without the use of CGI on green screens, but rather opted for the realistic use of natural light, which served as a detriment to the actors as they endured the most grueling schedule ever, but you can't argue with the final product.  The film is shot with a lot of closeup shots which pulls you into the movie, and as Glass makes his pilgrimage, you feel like you're walking alongside him.  It's more than just seeing someone do it, you feel like a part of it, and in the end you feel like you've traveled along with Glass from start to finish.  There's even a particularly amazing sequence which occurs at the very start of the film, as there's one long camera take that doesn't cut out for at least twenty minutes.  This is very reminiscent of the first scene from "Gravity," both of which are the signature styling of the Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (who will more than likely pick up his third Oscar in a row for this). 

Speaking of Oscars, "The Revenant" earned the most Oscar nominations with twelve, and I can see it sweeping pretty much all of them, especially Best Picture and Best Director.  Tom Hardy probably won't win Best Supporting Actor (Sly pretty much has that locked up), and his performance here, while exceptional, wasn't the driving force of the film.  This was DiCaprio's film through and through.

When it comes to Best Actor, I feel that this will be DiCaprio's year, after several shocking misses.  Even though he doesn't have a lot of lines in the film, the physical work he performs is awe-inspiring.  From the brutal bear attack (still sends chills down my spine), to eating bison liver (which DiCaprio has said definitely did NOT taste like chicken), to sleeping in a horse carcass (visions of "Star Wars" went through my head) - not to mention experiencing unforgiving freezing temperatures, wading through nearly frozen rivers and enduring bone-chilling cold - DiCaprio threw his whole self into this role, and it was clearly his most demanding work ever.  I still have no idea how a man could survive such tortures.  I feel like dying after stubbing my toe.  If he doesn't win this year, it will be a travesty.

The Summary:
"The Revenant" is the tale of a man bent on revenge, who overcame the impossible to survive, and it leaves you exhausted and feeling like you experienced something more than just a movie.

The Score: A+