The Revenant
With all the high quality movies and huge blockbusters from our pasts resurfacing, I never thought 2015 would also be the best year for another genre. A genre that once stood mighty over all others and produced some of the most iconic names in American cinema. The Western. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu shows us, once again, that he is a director to be taken seriously. Hot off his Oscar wins last year for Birdman Inarritu shows up with The Revenant. A movie that couldn’t be tonally any different, is shot different, and downright brutal.
A group of fur trappers in the American North West, sometime after the Civil War (not the upcoming one where Chris Evans will ruin Tony Stark’s day), are ambushed by a Native American tribe. Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the leader of the expedition and calls for a general retreat, leaving behind their livelihood in order to save their lives. Glass ends up on his own in the fray and gets brutally mauled by a bear. A trapper named John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy, who is having a great year) takes issue with Glass’s decision and Glass’s half-white, half-Pawnee son. He isn’t shy about voicing his opinion on leaving Glass to die. Circumstances give Fitzgerald what he wants. He is stopped when trying to suffocate Glass by Glass’s own son. Fitzgerald kills the son, with Glass looking on helplessly, and half buries Glass in a shallow grave before taking his leave.
There has been a lot of buzzing flitting around the internet about DiCaprio’s performance in Revenant. A lot of talk about this finally being the one to get him his overdue Oscar. DiCaprio is phenomenal. Through much of the film he doesn’t speak, his performance is so physical and enthralling words would get in the way. He is a one man show for the majority of the movie. His tragic struggle is captivating and the dedication to the roll is incredibly apparent. The real break out performance of the movie doesn’t lie with DiCaprio though, it lies with Tom Hardy. Hardy’s transformation is made even more complete than DiCaprio’s because the way he disappears into the role. His accent, voice, and mannerisms are completely new. There isn’t a key ‘Hardy-ism’ to his performance at all. He has limited screen time compared to DiCaprio and he comes out even more memorable as such a vile character you can’t help but watch and listen.
The Revenant is a true, big screen, big format, movie. The art direction and framing is gorgeous in every shot. The American Northwest gets a lot of screen time in its vast beauty. The shots of mountains, valleys, rock faces, rivers, and trees are plentiful but never feel tiresome. We aren’t forced to sit through long tracking shots of nothing like in the overrated Sicario. We are given just enough wilderness and wonder to get in the mindset of the characters and to appreciate their plight. This is truly a spectacle that has earned it’s place in our world of high resolution screens that grow by leaps and bounds. This movie would be wasted streaming on your phone or tablet, get to the theater or pop the blu-ray in on the biggest TV you have.
The amazing scenery blended with the costuming and transformations all the actors went through makes for a very complete picture. DiCaprio is recognizable since he is one of the greatest actors currently working but he doesn’t have a single trope or go-to move in his performance. Much like Hardy he vanishes into his character. There has been no shortage of information making the rounds online and in the proper pop-culture editorials of everyone’s commitment to making this movie. The dedication pays off with every detail in the film looking as authentic as can be.
The authenticity carries into how the Native American’s are handled as well. Even the tribe that attacks Glass and his fur trapping men aren’t vilified flat out. There’s absolutely a skew provided by who the obvious protagonist is but since Glass isn’t bigoted neither is the audience’s view. There are even some touching moments that sneak their way onto the screen from time to time between man and animal or two strangers, from completely different walks of life, coming together in the interest of survival and mutual human decency.
The events in The Revenant are said to be based on a true story. The movie doesn’t feel like a history lesson and the liberties taken in the story are likely plentiful. That doesn’t matter. The Revenant delivers a tight story of survival, perseverance, and revenge. Everything a Western needs. A lot of the feelings, emotions, and subtext is presented through no use of dialogue. There are long stretches where no one says anything. Even when characters are talking, there are no long speeches. The script keeps banter to a minimum, dialogue is concise and to the point. These are plain, hard working, salt of the earth men.
The Revenant is intense at times but a spectacle in the best sense of the word. The direction, story, performances, and score blend perfectly into a masterpiece worthy of any award season, or more importantly, your time.
