The Revenant

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Visually speaking, The Revenant is one of the most awe-inspiring movies ever made. If you’ve looked up anything about this movie, my complimenting its use of natural lighting and breathtaking scenery should come as no surprise to you. Yet in terms of storytelling, director Alejandro G. Inarritu (Oscar-winner from last year’s Best Picture winner Birdman) takes some daring approaches which, in my opinion, do not always pay off.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life 1800s frontiersman Hugh Glass. Following a vicious attack by the area’s native inhabitants, Glass and his team of fur traders are forced to take a long and treacherous road back to their base. While out alone, Glass encounters a bear protecting its cubs. Seeing him as a threat, Glass is nearly killed by the beast, but miraculously survives within an inch of his life. Refusing to let Glass’ injuries kill his whole crew, the off-putting trader Fitzpatrick (Tom Hardy) offers to stay with Glass until he is better while the rest of the traders hastily make their way back. At this point, Fitzpatrick kills Glass’ half-Native American son and buries Glass alive. Miraculously, again, Glass survives, now more determined than ever to avenge his son and go face-to-face with Fitzpatrick.

The sheer dedication of filmmaking by Inarritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki are worthy of substantial praise here. It’s evident that the film was a painstaking project, yet it seemed so seamlessly pieced together from an aesthetic perspective. Shots of gloriously clouded sunsets and authentic horseback chases trough the wilderness demand The Revenant be seen on the big screen. The brutality and realness of Glass’ and Fitzpatrick’s rivalry is palpable, especially in their final fight. 

Much credit should go to both of these actors, and while Leo gives one of his best performances, the real winner of the film is Tom Hardy. Yes, Leo slept naked in a dead horse carcass and ate bison meat – and I am not minimizing the impact of his performance. Hardy’s transformation is being sorely underappreciated in my eyes. His gut-wrenching turn as Fitzpatrick left me wanting to punch him in the face in every scene, which I believe is a testament to the man’s performance. I would love for both of these men to take home their first Oscars this year. We also have great performances from Will Poulter and this year’s breakout star Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars, Ex Machina).

Where this movie went wrong for me was in its attempts to break the conventional narrative. This technique can work – Inaritu himself did it well in Birdman. Here, some imagery and subplots are totally unnecessary, and/or could have been told better. For example, Glass’ (ex)-wife/girlfriend/lover/concubine is only a shadow of a memory, and we have no idea of her past. There’s also a rather confusing storyline involving the daughter of a native tribe’s leader, and the role she plays in the story’s progression is befuddling given how little time is spent developing that story.

This movie is nominated for 12 Oscars, but I would like to point out one category it is not nominated for – Best Screenplay. I believe this speaks to my point. Visually, this movie deserves more than a 5/5. Yet from a storytelling perspective – an area that universally suffered this year in movies – The Revenant leaves us wishing the end result was a bit more conventional, and that the daring cinematic innovations were just left to the cinematographer for this one.

Rating: 4/5