The Revenant: Man vs. the Unforgiving Frontier

                 The Revenant is directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu and though you don’t remember his name, you might remember his movie Birdman which swept the Oscars last year. His next film based on the novel by Michael Punke but more specifically the real experience of fur trapper Hugh Glass, isn’t as good but certainly has some remarkable qualities.

                The true story is about Glass played by Leonardo DiCaprio who is hunting with a party in 1823 in the uncompromising unsettled wilderness of Louisiana. He gets separated after they’re attacked by the Arikara, is mauled by a grizzly bear, found by his party but left to die by one of them. So he attempts to survive in the barren wild injured and without resources.

                If I had a nickel for every survival movie I’ve seen, I might have a dollar –a nickel’s not worth much. And while this film does play out a number beats we’ve seen in Castaway and The Edge, it does feel a lot more bitter and raw. This film is based on a true story after all and pulls no punches in its depiction of what Glass has to do to survive. That scene in The Empire Strikes Back becomes less funny after this film’s treated us to the reality of sleeping naked in the body of a dead animal for warmth. The bear attack is also really intense. But despite some of these sequences, the film does drag, going on too long at two and a half hours. Once we get to the climax, which is very exciting if probably not historically accurate (but does feature a really great vengeance fueled fight), it feels a little too late. And though some of the scenes are more gripping you know where the story’s going which dispels some of the investment.

                But the film does showcase some great performances. DiCaprio is fantastic as Glass in a performance that requires little dialogue. He doesn’t have a volleyball to talk to, he’s on his own and the power of the situation is evident through his expressions and physical behaviour alone. It’s a powerhouse performance that really deserves an Oscar nomination, being one of the first times for me, that I didn’t see DiCaprio, but rather a character. Tom Hardy too is exceptional as trapper John Fitzgerald who plays a very big part even if some of his scenes could have been cut. Will Poulter is great, and Domhnall Gleeson after Ex Machina and Star Wars, turns out another terrific performance here as Captain Andrew Henry, really becoming a breakout star of the year.

                But maybe the film’s biggest strength is its cinematography. Emmanuel Lubezki may be the best in the business today and after two back-to-back Oscars he may be destined for a third. The shots in this movie are incredible. It’s not as impressive as Birdman’s single take technique, but the clarity and variance of the shots and captivating angles make it stand out. Even little details like the propensity of flies in Captain Henry’s cabin are really effective. There are long tracking shots that allow you to feel the scope of the environment and action, and they’re amazing. Even more so when you realize they’re all accomplished using natural lighting which lends all the more to the realism. Apart from the camera there’s no artificiality involved. It’s all filmed in the middle of nowhere (a.k.a. Alberta and B.C.) against the real elements.

                And so The Revenant does accomplish much with some of the best performances and cinematography of the year even if the story is slowly paced and conventional. It captures with more authenticity and brutality a man’s survival and though not an epic, it’s not a movie you’ll soon forget.