The Revenant

The Revenant(Alenjrando Gonzales,2015) is a historical drama that follows Hugh Glass(Leonardo DiCaprio), an American fur trapper in the 1820’s who is ruthlessly mauled by a bear, then left for dead by his co-workers, played by Tom Hardy and Will Poulter. The movie is brutal, gritty and violent, and follows the character of Hugh Glass almost constantly, as he, against the impossible odds before him, hunts the man who betrayed him for revenge.

Leonardo DiCaprio delivers one of his best ever performances in this film, one so powerful that it won him the Oscar for best actor. He perfectly portrays the image of a broken and revenge-obsessed man, with only one thing on his mind. Thoughts of violence. His past is mysterious, which draws us to him as a character, and his struggle is entirely believable too. Every hit he takes feels genuine, and you can just tell hoe tired and damaged he is by the end of the film. He actually feels like a ghost, a man who is supposed to be dead, but was killed in so brutal a way that he has come back to avenge himself and his son. A haunting performance, and one of the most investing and sympathetic character that I’ve ever seen in a film.

The movie is also stunning! The cinematography won an Oscar, as it should of. The images of 17th century America are genuinely breathtaking, and are so grand and powerful they they feel almost unreal. It also shows how unlikely Hughs’ chances are at survival, since the environment is so hazardous and intimidating. It really portrays the image of a grand, powerful environment, almost one not made for man to roam, and one that is yet in-tamed or colonised.

The film Is also incredibly violent. Usually violence in films can seem pointless, or just there for show. While violence rarely subtracts from a film, it can be used to add to it. In this, violence and gore is used to display the brutality of life at this time, in this place. It is used to portray how evil people could be, and how selfish everyone was. No one cared for another person, only looking out for themselves. It almost feels like a post-apocalyptic movie. It reduces people to their primal instinct, almost like animals. Also, the violence is used to have an impact on the audience. If the movie was not violent, then it would be less of an experience on the audience, and they’d be more likely to forget it. More violence has more of an effect on those who see it.

Another way that Gonzales immerses the audience in what is happening in the movie is by using very prolonged and lengthy shots. These often just follow characters moving between places, but, whether being used in a slow-paced scene or an action sequence, this method of filming brings the audience into the scene, making them feel like they are there surrounded by all the violence. The camera cuts between characters, but when following one, it is usually just one long continuous shot, following them but also paying attention to details in the background. This also helps build tension and show the events happening around the character were following.

The movie also splendidly helps the viewer grasp just how harsh the environment is, and immersing them in the time period. All of the costumes feel real because of the dirt and grime on them. The weapons are accurate, and the environment is cold and cruel. You feel everything that the people in the film do. You can get a very good idea of just how cold and brittle the landscape is. It is this immersion that makes The Revenant such an experience. You feel uncomfortable watching it, because you see and feel every injury inflicted on Glass, and gauge just how awful it would be to be in the situation that he’s in.

Gonzales also does an incredible job at portraying each characters motives. There are four characters in question, all of which, despite only one being the protagonist, you understand perfectly. Glass(Leonardo DiCaprio), Fitzgerald(Tom Hardy), Bridger(Will Poulter) and Henry(Domhnall Gleeson). Hugh has been betrayed and abandoned in an extremely horrible way. All he had was taken from him, right in front of his eyes, while he couldn’t do anything about it. It is a miracle that he is even alive, so all he has to life for is vengeance. Fitzgerald has found himself in a sticky situation. While serving his best interests he has left a man for dead, but now that that man is back from the dead and looking for revenge, Fitzgerald is terrified and desperate to crawl out of the hole he dug for himself, and Hugh Glass. Bridger is a young boy, terrified about what he’s been dragged into, only wanting to escape the responsibility of Fitzgerald crimes, and the consequences of his own gullibility. Henry is a local lawman, who wants to be fair and honest in his justice, but finds that more and more difficult in a world where everyone serves themselves, and revenge and chaos run rampant.

Understanding every character is crucial for gauging why people do what they do, and what leads the film to the fates of everyone. Right from the start of the film Gonzales establishes the personality’s of the the characters and their philosophies, and at the end of the film that leads them to their fates. For example, Fitzgerald has seen the darkest sides of the world, and has been tortured to the point where he can only care for himself, but that’s what leads him to ruining what’s left of Hughs life, which eventually leads to Glass handing Fitzgerald over to the Natives, the very people to made him such an evil person. Full circle.

Lastly I will touch on the more subtle undertones and meanings in the movie. The one that I noticed was the relationship between Hugh Glass and the Native Americans. At the start of the film we see that Hugh has a Native son, but this does not stop him from engaging in battles with tribes, like at the beginning of the film, where we see much violence shown from both sides, the fur trappers and Natives. So after establishing that Hugh has a personal connection with the Natives, but still is violent towards them, the movie starts. Hugh’s son is ripped away from him, and he is forced to go on a somber journey to avenge him. The hypocrisy of killing Natives but still being heart broken over his sons death shows that Hugh is a flawed person, which sets off the start of his punishment.

Throughout his quest, Hugh is both hunted by Natives and also finds comfort with them. At first he runs from them, but as the movie progresses, he meets more and more Native Americans, even establishing friends with some, and going as far as to risk his life saving one of them. His relationship with the Natives is completely subtle, and is hard to notice, except for when you think about it. It quietly improves over the film, until Hugh almost only ever see’s them. He lets a group of Natives kill Fitzgerald, and by this point at the end of the film you understand that he has completely let go, and accepted that this impossible land that has almost consumed him, ultimately belongs to those who were here first, and handing over the man he has travelled so far to kill is his form of sacrifice for his wrongdoings to them.

The film also subtly references Native American beliefs on the environment in which they lived. The grand, beautiful shots of the landscape, with Glass as such a tiny, minuscule presence in it symbolises his life being at the mercy of the world around him, almost humbling him. The film never presents Hugh as an unstoppable force, but a ghost, a husk of a man travelling through a world with no mercy, slowly accepting his fate and weakness. Native Americans used to value paying respect to the Earth and its creatures, so being mauled by a bear and forced to trek through America is a fitting punishment for Glass.

The movie even ends with Hugh seeing a vision of what we assume to be his child’s mother, a Native American woman. So after all of his trials, as it were, Hugh is finally taken up by his deceased wife, after finally establishing a respect for the people he has waged war with for years. A somber, beautiful ending.

Overall, The Revenant is a gritty, hard to watch adventure of revenge and obsession on the surface. But underneath there is beautiful, meaningful story of punishment and redemption. Made perfectly, and impossible to look away from, The Revenant is a modern masterpiece that I rate ★★★★★!