The Revenant is filmmaking at its very best.
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Paul Anderson, Lukas Haas
Rating: 15
Running Time: 156 minutes
Release Date: January 15th, 2016
For weeks leading up to its release THE REVENANT has been discussed on the build-up to awards season, it has been written about in many film magazines and websites and yet aside from the trailers, very little has been seen. The 19th-century Western, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as frontier legend Hugh Glass, has been released in limited cinemas in the US and is released in the UK January 15th, yet Fox has needed very little promotion to provide hype for the film, but it doesn’t need it, as it has completely saturated the media.
Whether you are a fan of the cinema or not, many will have heard the stories about the complicated production, which involved filming in extreme and brutal weather conditions and DiCaprio’s performance is supposedly the best of his career. The folks at the Golden Globes certainly thought so – he walked away with the coveted Best Actor gong, the director Alejandro González Iñárritu also did not leave empty handed – and then of course, the film scooped Best Picture.
So, is it worth the hype that has been surrounding it? Oh my goodness, yes!
It is a difficult task to try and even put it into words to describe the sheer brilliance of the film and the experience when watching it. Your legs will shake, your heart will beat and your guts will wrench – cinema does not get much better than this.
It is not hard to imagine how much of a toil it was for the production crew to make THE REVENANT and even more so for the actors and director too, who have all equally contributed towards making a sublime journey into the heart of darkness and we are so grateful they did. Glass’s tale, long mythologized and resurrected by Michael Punke’s 2002 novel, upon which the film is based, is a miraculous survivor’s tale.
On the brink of death following his disastrous encounter with a bear, Glass was left in the care of two fellow trappers — played superbly by Tom Hardy and Will Poulter. We learn that the duo were bribed by their boss to give him a proper burial upon his death after his gruesome attack from a bear. But as Glass lingered, and hostile Indians lurked in the wilderness, they took matters into their own hands. Against the odd sand certainly the expectations of his former acquaintances, Glass survived and set off in pursuit of the dishonorable men who betrayed him, killed his son and his quest for revenge kicks off.
There is no denying that the screenplay in itself is engaging and pulls the story along effortlessly, but it is the man at the helm, Iñárritu who should be applauded for this visionary masterpiece. Making this may have been more like an endurance test of strength, determination and sheer gut – very much like DiCaprio’s Glass, as the directing mastermind put all involved through an endurance test, not just for the cast and production crew, but also for the audience too.
The film is dark, bleak as hell and gruesome, but that is exactly what makes it work – and in some ways, these elements have helped to make it jaw-droppingly beautiful. The audience is swept along with the characters into this nightmare; a cold, unforgiving and desolate environment filled with violence, tension and the most breathtaking imagery that is so astounding it almost feels manufactured. This really is filmmaking at its very best. Shots of the dark, dense trees looming in deep-focus compositions, stunning waterfalls, open air and treacherous landscapes are a sight to behold, but all of this combined with the most intelligent and well thought out sound design is where the magic happens. There is little need for loud, orchestral compositions, instead the audience is left alone with the sound of nature – like Glass – and once more the rustling sound of the trees, the gurgling of the water in the river and the solemn sounds of animals in the distance create a symphony of its own.
The precision and uncompromising demands of the director and cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki, the Oscar-winning duo behind BIRDMAN, have been worth it. Iñárritu has created the most extraordinary piece of cinema you are ever likely to see and THE REVENANT is the sort of original movie that the world of cinema so desperately needs. With so many reboots, remakes and comic movies hitting the big screen, this film is like no other.
The many scenes of animal and human savagery are brutal to watch and are scattered continuously throughout the 156-minute running time, but the long, unbroken takes are a visual signature of the director and in this film, they work more than ever. Take for example a big battle scene at the start of the film, men fall, horses fall, a multitude of survivors trying to run away fall – yet it is all done in jaw-droppingly long takes that make it feel so real, as if you are watching the atrocity happening right before you at that very minute.
As DiCaprio’s Glass has a gut-wrenching encounter with a bear, that is where you really want to applaud Iñárritu. The way the scene is shot, the length of time, the physicality of it all and the realness of the events all unfold within your eyes and it makes you want to look away, but you simply can’t – and you definitely shouldn’t!
This is where you look at Leonardo DiCaprio and you think ‘wow’. He is barely recognisable underneath all of the mud, blood, dirt, beard and fur-clothing, but his portrayal of the mountain man is nothing short of extraordinary. We see his character lose all that he lives for and his sole purpose of survival is for revenge – and DiCaprio really makes us believe it. We can practically see the actor suffering in the cold, wintry conditions as he is thrown into freezing water, taking bites out of freshly killed animals, healing his wounds in the most painful and desperate ways, but it is the best we have ever seen him.
His character can barely talk, but through his physicality he is telling us all we need to know. It is the most visceral, physical performance of human suffering at its worst and it has been delivered by the very best. Take a bow Mr DiCaprio, you have more than made your mark on this film with this Oscar-worthy performance.
Bringing out the very best in him, is his co-star Tom Hardy, who plays Fitzgerald. The trapper murders his son, leaves Glass for dead and has awakened an inner bear inside of the dying man that knows no bounds. Hardy has continued to demonstrate his versatility in this film and he makes a rather unnerving, ruthless villain all wrapped up inside a rather bullish, strong brute. When on screen with DiCaprio, the duo bounce off one another and their rivalry is electric.
DiCaprio and Hardy are supported onscreen superbly by Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter, who have more than shown their capabilities and likeable characters. They are not afraid to hold their own when joined by their two older counterparts and have played their roles with determination and conviction.
THE REVENANT is without a doubt, the film of the year and we are only a few weeks into 2016. The movie will sweep you away on a journey, steal your breath, stir you to the inner core and spit you back out again when you think you can’t take any more. It’s brutal, beautiful and one of the best movies you will watch this year. Iñárritu, we salute you. The future of cinema is in great hands with you.
Verdict
[…] The Revenant […]
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