Revenant – (noun) a person who has returned, especially supposedly from the dead. (Google def.)
All the movies that have ever said that revenge is not a worthwhile endeavor have never met Hugh Glass. That man has done things – impossible things – in the name and with the power of revenge that would make any Sith Lord proud. In the course of a 2 hour movie, we see this man practically die and come back to life and it was a truly brutal and excruciating experience – for Glass AND the audience.
The Revenant is inspired by real life experiences of frontiersman and fur trapper, Hugh Glass. After a series of unfortunate incidents, including a bloody encounter with a native American tribe, one of the most vicious animal attacks I’ve ever witnessed on screen and a flat our murder attempt, Hugh Glass is severely wounded, body battered and broken, easily more than halfway dead, and left alone to fend for himself. With nothing but the fur on his back, his superior survival expertise, and an undying, profoundly resilient spirit about him, Glass traverses the treacherous and merciless winter wilderness to get back to his camp and claim his revenge on the person who orchestrated his suffering.
Captain Andrew Henry and his team of fur hunters.
“As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. You breathe...keep breathing” says Hugh Glass; and the philosophy that would aptly embody this gripping survival film.
Hugh Glass, a man at the very brink of death, literally and figuratively clawing his way to life was nothing short of miraculous. Watching him go through what he did, all the physical and emotional trauma, and seeing him overcome all of it, one predicament at a time, was as awe-inspiring as it was mesmerizing. It’s a story of survival in its purest form – man vs. wild, the harsh environment vs. ingenuity and instinct, a human body’s limits vs. its steely resolve. The Revenant, more than anything else, will astonish you with the extent of what a person is capable of with enough motivation and in the face of desperation.
“As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. You breathe...keep breathing”
Leonardo DiCaprio and Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu both deserve the highest of praise for bringing this tale to life. They’ve perfected their craft and materialized it in The Revenant.
There's a reason he's gotten back-to-back wins.
It’s only been a year since Director Inarritu gave us the masterpiece and technical marvel that was Birdman. But while The Revenant won’t be remembered as the same ground-breaking film Birdman was, it was still very much filmmaking at its finest. The acting, the pace, the practical effects, the camerawork and cinematography, and the musical score all delivered a deeply haunting survival story.
DiCaprio's scenes were absolute torture! Without spoiling anything, let me just say that anyone planning on seeing this film better be ready cringe, irk, and occasionally look away and it’s in huge part because of Leo’s total commitment to the role. He communicated every little bit and variety of the character’s pain and heart-break with utmost command and precision. The way his voice broke, his body’s state, his stature, his accent in both English and native American, they all had a deliberate consistency about them from beginning to end. And I even read somewhere that Leo ate a real RAW SLAB OF BISON LIVER…if that’s not dedication, I don’t know what is.
Leonardo DiCaprio is the definition of commitment.
Tom Hardy was no chopped liver either. In his portrayal of the story’s antagonist John Fitzgerald, Hardy was intimidating and sleazy and deserved all our hate. He really fit comfortably in the villainous role. And Will Poulter, who plays the hunting group’s young, naïve neophyte, Bridger, brought about a character you could easily sympathize with, albeit his relatively short screen time.
Bane and General Hux - the crossover no one ever asked for.
But the movie’s exceptionally visceral nature is not only a testament to DiCaprio and the rest of the actors’ skill but the make-up and props department as well. I admit, I don’t always take notice on this particular branch in filmmaking but seeing as The Revenant was a practical effects heavy film, you can’t not praise their stellar work. The animals, the wounds, the blood, the guts, the carnage, all of it were just too real!!! And whatever digital alterations or enhancements they made were refined enough to go unnoticed. This unbelievable devotion to detail and realism added a great deal to the film’s survivalist theme.
DiCaprio’s natural talent, the attention to detail and authenticity of this world, the way Inarritu masterfully builds tension, and the way he orchestrates the action all came together in cinematic harmony to make The Revenant survival porn – raw, savage, fearsome, unrelenting and unforgiving.
A film that's saddening, frightening, frustrating but ultimately satisfying.
But just when you start to think The Revenant is all gore and making you throw up in your mouth, you’ll be treated to an unexpected amount of beauty. I don’t mean that in just a profound, philosophical sense, but a literal beauty. Every other shot is GORGEOUS; almost as if it was meant to be a photo for one of those motivational posters. The Revenant is surprisingly scenic, underscoring its central theme of man vs. nature, but also giving the movie an aesthetic gleam. Inarritu’s wide, drawn out mountain cutaways, his poignant, ala-Last of Us score or use of total silence, the dynamic camerawork, added a layer of serenity and opportune reflection in an otherwise ultraviolent film.
Images you'd want to hang up your wall.
It’s only the start of 2016 and I can already confidently say that we have one of this year’s best in The Revenant (even though it’s really a 2015 movie. Thanks MMFF.) It’s a film that never compromises in its promise to deliver a truthful, gritty, and moving survival film, no matter how graphic and unsettling it may get at times, while also maintaining an understated sense of beauty. The Revenant is worth every peso; its penetrating mark, along with all the survival tips, will linger in your minds for days to come.
PS. I can’t resist it. I have to share some of my favorite moments: (SPOILERS!)
- "I ain't afraid to die anymore. I've done that already." Mic drop!
- Opening war scene
- Mega badass self-cautery
- Glass borrowing from Han Solo’s survival handbook
MICMIC RATING: 9 / 10
*First seen on The Philippine Online Chronicles!
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