The Revenant: Movie Review
Fresh off the heels of last year’s hit “Birdman”, writer/director Alejandro González Iñárritu returns with his most impressive work to date. Although “The Revenant” sports a 156 minute run time (and at times feels like it), it makes great use of those two and a half hours. Not only does the film feature what is arguably the best performance of Leonardo DiCaprio’s career, but it is also the most beautiful looking and masterfully shot film in recent memory. The locations are breathtaking. If you were impressed with Iñárritu’s tracking shots in “Birdman”, you haven’t seen anything yet.
Based on Michael Punke’s “The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge”, the story is set in the American wilderness during the 19th century (1823 to be exact). While on an expedition collecting pelts, explorer Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) is brutally mauled by a bear that was protecting its’ cubs. Although the bear is a CGI creation that does not take away from how horrifying the scene is. With chunks of skin ripped from his body and his throat nearly torn out from his neck, Hugh must be carried back by fellow hunters. However, because the men cannot carry Hugh up the mountain, John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) and Hugh’s Native American son, Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) stay behind while the rest of the team get help.
John doesn’t want to wait around for Hugh to die on his own, but when Hawk tries to prevent John from killing his father, Hawk winds up seeing the end of the blade instead. Not only has Hawk been killed before his eyes, but John and Jim have left Hugh for dead. Driven by the love for his family and vengeance in his heart, Hugh finds the strength to rise up and go after the man who took his son’s life.
“The Revenant” cuts back and forth between Hugh’s journey, John and Jim’s journey, and the base of the fur trappers operation, which is led by Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson). However, most of the film is focused on Hugh. The wounded revenge seeker must hide from Indians, but also other dangers in the wilderness. All while his body is falling apart. When I tell you that “The Revenant” is graphic and brutal, I mean it, even for a horror fan such as myself. In one scene, Hugh cuts open the belly of a horse, takes out its stomach and intestine and then crawls into the warm carcass to keep warm.
The opening sequence is absolutely fantastic in which we see the fur trappers try to escape an Indian attack. We get another thrilling attack that leads into the dead horse sequence I mentioned before. “The Revenant” is not fast-paced, and although I wish at least fifteen minutes were trimmed off somewhere, it is definitely something worth seeing on the big screen.
By: Marc Ferman