The Revenant (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
One year after having won Oscars for his outrageous black comedy Birdman, writer/director Alejandro Inarritu is back with his next audacious project, a 156 minute, Leo DiCaprio-starring wilderness epic titled, 'The Revenant' {meaning, a person who has supposedly returned from the dead}. Is it good? Yep. Is it too long? Yep. Is it the propulsive, edge-of-your-seat revenge flick that you think it might be? Nottttt quite. Having said that, I was riveted and hugely impressed by the filmmaking on display. Set circa 1825 in uncharted South Dakota - and loosely based on a true story - DiCaprio stars as Hugh Glass, a stoic guide leading a group of fur trappers on an expedition. They are in threatening territory & constantly surrounded by the Ree tribe who are ready to attack them for interfering on their land and, perhaps, for more pressing matters (pertaining to the chief's kidnapped daughter). Glass knows the land more than anyone, but the rest of his cohorts are wary of him, due to the fact that he lives with Native Americans & even brings along his half-Pawnee teenage son, Hawk (Forest Goodluck).
One member of the group, John Fitzgerald (a grizzled Tom Hardy), is vocal in his opposition to Hawk's position as leader. But Capt. Henry(Domnhall Gleeson, currently co-starring in 4 Oscar-contending movies this year), realizes they have no hope of returning to camp alive and/or with furs if they don't work with Glass. After the group is ambushed by the ferocious Ree tribe {what a scene!}, Capt. Henry decides to ditch their fur haul & return to Fort Kiowa with their tails btwn. their legs. But after the survivors escape, Glass is savagely mauled by a mother bear {another wower of a scene, using incredible CGI}, which leaves him incapacitated to the point of near-death. With the Ree closing in again, Capt. Henry offers a special reward to those who will stay behind to care for Glass & his son, Hawk.
Stepping up to the plate is the cynical, greedy Fitzgerald, & the compassionate Jim Bridger (an impressive Will Poulter). If Glass is to die, they are to give him a decent burial. But Fitzgerald snaps, kills Hawk in a scuffle, leaves Glass for dead in a shallow grave, & hits the trail with an unknowing Bridger. Against all odds {believe me, that phrase couldn't be truer here} ... the tormented Glass recovers, sets out on an arduous journey, fights through unforgiving conditions, dodges tribes every step of the way, & is determined to exact revenge upon Fitzgerald. Although 'The Revenant' drags a bit in the buildup to the climax and, though there is collateral damage en mass, it closes with a sequence of just comeuppance that surprised me; in that, it all ends on a more cathartic note than one might have expected.
'The Revenant' is one hell of a brutal movie ... but a pretty great one if you withstand the lengthy running time. Inarritu creates a visceral atmosphere & directs with unique touches, from the ferocious opening tribe attack {which, holy CRAP, don't know how they shot that!}, to the episodic story detailing Glass' survival efforts, to a scene involving a horseback chase shot in one long take, which ends as Glass & his horse cascade off a cliff. There's a primordial symbolism about Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography -- which is a stunner {and he filmed it all in natural lighting -- crazy cool}. You get a true sense of the danger around every corner. And the foreboding, mountainous terrain is a character itself. The script is peppered with intriguing thematic details, from the man vs. nature element to the clash btwn. European invaders & the spiritual Indian population. On paper, 'The Revenant' may look like a simplistic revenge thriller, but there's more to it. Along with some thematic heft, this is a tale about both the fragility & resilience that humans inhabit; and it's also an exploration of the timeless impact of greed.
That said, in other attempts to make this film more substantial, Inarritu slows down the narrative sense of urgency by showing us moody, dream-like sequences which detail Glass' back story, but are repeated too many times, and contain pseudo-meaningful shots of nature. I also feel that the filmmakers get bogged down a tad in the minutia of Glass' terrible ordeal. So those sequences that stand-out as a little too long or unnecessary, makes the 156 min. running time feel bloated; a 120 minute film would have sufficed, methinks. It's almost as if Inarritu felt that he needed to make this film as grandiose as possible in order to beef up the fairly one-note Western tale. The many thematic beats & too-long shots of nature try to convey a profundity that isn't necessarily needed. But my issues with this movie stop right there.
DiCaprio dominates with a fire-eyed intensity & a soulful humanity that aids this film spectacularly. For much of the proceedings, DiCaprio spellbinds as he seeths with rage, grunts, grimaces, & claws his way through the wintry forests, releasing guttural bellows of despair & physical suffering as he goes. Given limited dialogue to convey everything, DiCaprio engages & moves us on both an elemental & emotional level. DiCaprio is getting a lot of "can he finally win an Oscar!?" buzz {and rightfully so}, but Tom Hardy also impresses for his conniving, despicable coward with an unpredictable rage. There's a nervous, edgy quality that Hardy lends and, you can't take your eyes off of him. He, like DiCaprio, is just so committed and, they grip us; bleeding, chewing, crying, spitting, & suffering along the way -- every fiber of their beings is on display in these roles. 'The Revenant' may leave an unpleasant aftertaste with some viewers (slow pace, human/animal gore), but overall, it's a towering achievement; a visually striking & immersive movie about the forces of nature and one man's hell bent mission.
One member of the group, John Fitzgerald (a grizzled Tom Hardy), is vocal in his opposition to Hawk's position as leader. But Capt. Henry(Domnhall Gleeson, currently co-starring in 4 Oscar-contending movies this year), realizes they have no hope of returning to camp alive and/or with furs if they don't work with Glass. After the group is ambushed by the ferocious Ree tribe {what a scene!}, Capt. Henry decides to ditch their fur haul & return to Fort Kiowa with their tails btwn. their legs. But after the survivors escape, Glass is savagely mauled by a mother bear {another wower of a scene, using incredible CGI}, which leaves him incapacitated to the point of near-death. With the Ree closing in again, Capt. Henry offers a special reward to those who will stay behind to care for Glass & his son, Hawk.
Stepping up to the plate is the cynical, greedy Fitzgerald, & the compassionate Jim Bridger (an impressive Will Poulter). If Glass is to die, they are to give him a decent burial. But Fitzgerald snaps, kills Hawk in a scuffle, leaves Glass for dead in a shallow grave, & hits the trail with an unknowing Bridger. Against all odds {believe me, that phrase couldn't be truer here} ... the tormented Glass recovers, sets out on an arduous journey, fights through unforgiving conditions, dodges tribes every step of the way, & is determined to exact revenge upon Fitzgerald. Although 'The Revenant' drags a bit in the buildup to the climax and, though there is collateral damage en mass, it closes with a sequence of just comeuppance that surprised me; in that, it all ends on a more cathartic note than one might have expected.
'The Revenant' is one hell of a brutal movie ... but a pretty great one if you withstand the lengthy running time. Inarritu creates a visceral atmosphere & directs with unique touches, from the ferocious opening tribe attack {which, holy CRAP, don't know how they shot that!}, to the episodic story detailing Glass' survival efforts, to a scene involving a horseback chase shot in one long take, which ends as Glass & his horse cascade off a cliff. There's a primordial symbolism about Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography -- which is a stunner {and he filmed it all in natural lighting -- crazy cool}. You get a true sense of the danger around every corner. And the foreboding, mountainous terrain is a character itself. The script is peppered with intriguing thematic details, from the man vs. nature element to the clash btwn. European invaders & the spiritual Indian population. On paper, 'The Revenant' may look like a simplistic revenge thriller, but there's more to it. Along with some thematic heft, this is a tale about both the fragility & resilience that humans inhabit; and it's also an exploration of the timeless impact of greed.
That said, in other attempts to make this film more substantial, Inarritu slows down the narrative sense of urgency by showing us moody, dream-like sequences which detail Glass' back story, but are repeated too many times, and contain pseudo-meaningful shots of nature. I also feel that the filmmakers get bogged down a tad in the minutia of Glass' terrible ordeal. So those sequences that stand-out as a little too long or unnecessary, makes the 156 min. running time feel bloated; a 120 minute film would have sufficed, methinks. It's almost as if Inarritu felt that he needed to make this film as grandiose as possible in order to beef up the fairly one-note Western tale. The many thematic beats & too-long shots of nature try to convey a profundity that isn't necessarily needed. But my issues with this movie stop right there.
DiCaprio dominates with a fire-eyed intensity & a soulful humanity that aids this film spectacularly. For much of the proceedings, DiCaprio spellbinds as he seeths with rage, grunts, grimaces, & claws his way through the wintry forests, releasing guttural bellows of despair & physical suffering as he goes. Given limited dialogue to convey everything, DiCaprio engages & moves us on both an elemental & emotional level. DiCaprio is getting a lot of "can he finally win an Oscar!?" buzz {and rightfully so}, but Tom Hardy also impresses for his conniving, despicable coward with an unpredictable rage. There's a nervous, edgy quality that Hardy lends and, you can't take your eyes off of him. He, like DiCaprio, is just so committed and, they grip us; bleeding, chewing, crying, spitting, & suffering along the way -- every fiber of their beings is on display in these roles. 'The Revenant' may leave an unpleasant aftertaste with some viewers (slow pace, human/animal gore), but overall, it's a towering achievement; a visually striking & immersive movie about the forces of nature and one man's hell bent mission.