MOVIE REVIEW: THE REVENANT
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Set against the surreal and uncharted American wilderness, The Revenant is a tale of survival, and ultimately, revenge played by Leonardo DiCaprio in his most intense (and difficult) role to date. In his relentless pursuit to survive and find redemption for his (murdered) son, Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) endures a gruelling expedition may it be against […]
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February 1, 2016 by Nikki Espartinez
FULL REVIEW
Set against the surreal and uncharted American wilderness, The Revenant is a tale of survival, and ultimately, revenge played by Leonardo DiCaprio in his most intense (and difficult) role to date. In his relentless pursuit to survive and find redemption for his (murdered) son, Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) endures a gruelling expedition may it be against nature and man. Watching Glass go through all that leaves you with the sickening and intoxicating feeling he himself is experiencing. And that pain is just the start. Best to leave more room for it as the film progresses.
Leo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass
Now the best part, and which I’m sure the audiences is spoiled with: The movie is rich with beautiful imagery, and stunning landscapes complimented by Director Alejandro Innaritu’s signature long shot sequences, accompanied by this mystical, ghostly and, at times, frightening sound that takes you off your seats and into the wild mountains of the Canadian Rockies, where most of the movie was filmed . It’s most impressive, in every technical aspect this film has dedicated itself into. There’s just no doubt every scene is a force to be reckon with. I particularly liked the bear scene: It was artful and distressing, fiercely orchestrated scene that’s hard to take off your mind after seeing it. With his grubby beard, and his pitiful dying state that was the aftermath of the bear attack, Leo is a tour de force throughout the film and by far, that was one of his best moments in the film, and quite possibly, in his stellar career.
The rest of the cast are equally magnificent, and moving. Oscar nominee Tom Hardy, who plays the villain, John Fitzerald, is a revelation. Here is a villain who perfectly balances out subtlety and intensity, but somehow, with a faint glimmer of hope that he’ll turn around, and not be the bad guy his character sets himself out to be. There’s just so much raw emotion and humanity in his eyes that tends to fool you into believing his motives aren’t pure, and he’s done a hell of a lot more damage than the bear. And Tom is just one of them. Other supporting cast members Will Poulter and Domhnall Gleeson also gave out wonderful performances.
Tom Hardy as John Fitzgerald
Staying true to its mood and story, the lighting couldn’t be more perfect. Sullen, and frigid, just like the setting, one couldn’t help but applaud at the brilliant usage of the natural light seen through the lens of a master cinematographer. It’s terrifying, and inhibiting and it definitely went too far, in a good way. This is obviously not a film for the light-hearted and adrenaline rush, or not, you’d be sure to get something from every scene and again, Lubezski succeeds spectacularly in this aspect. This is him in his purest, and most complex creation to date.
But an epic movie is not without its little flaws. For one thing, while some of the dialogues were fairly memorable, the “tree” metaphor got a little too forced come the climax. All the adrenaline, and momentum, and those pure moments of dueling with death ultimately made some of the lines a bit underwhelming, as opposed to the dizzyingly beautiful imagery this movie is very rich with. And they could’ve strengthened the father-son story, either by highlighting a couple more backflash scenes, or maybe establishing a more solid relationship between Glass and the woman he fell in love with. Suffice to say, this was the weak part of this otherwise monumental film. Fresh off the success of Birdman, Alejandro G. Innaritu, together with multiply Oscar awardee cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki reeks mastery of this field of work. With The Revenant, you are treated to a two-and-a-half hours worth of a deeply consuming, and a little bit eerie, as some would call it, cinematic experience. It does, afterall, belong to Lubezki as much as to Innaritu. I certainly can’t imagine how this would work (or be bearable) without these two. A collaboration I very much look forward to seeing, or rather, witnessing again in the years to come.
