The Revenant Review

They say that suffering builds character. In “The Revenant”, one could argue that the amount of suffering our central character endures would build him a character made of solid granite. From the very first scene, in which our hero, Hugh Glass (played very seriously by Leonardo DiCaprio) has to fight off a band of Native Americans as his compadres are dying all around him, suffering is the name of the game. Throughout the entire film, Glass must survive against terrible odds as it seems that everything is trying to kill him. Indians, bears, the bitter cold, starvation, and a rival fur trapper try their damnedest to make sure that Hugh doesn’t make it out alive. However, despite these overwhelming setbacks, our hero manages to make it all the way through, although certainly not unscathed. He is very scathed by the end of the film. But, I guess, that is why he is the “Revenant”. For those of you who did not major in English, the word means someone who has returned from the dead. Glass fits this description perfectly, considering that he literally crawls out of his grave.

From a technical aspect, the film is gorgeously shot; you truly feel as if you have stepped back in time to frontier days, and you can almost feel the biting cold as Glass struggles in his quest for revenge. That being said, for a movie that clearly spent so much time on making everything look as beautiful and savage as possible, there are two glaring issues that can take you out of the experience. The first, and most jarring, is during a scene after Hugh has crawled his way out of the grave to lay next to his (SPOILER ALERT) dead son. The camera moves in until you can practically kiss him, and then he proceeds to fog up the lens. This continues for a solid ten seconds and really makes you wonder why it was kept in the film, let alone allowed to happen in the first place. The other technical issue is Inarritu’s insistence on using a single shot for multiple scenes. During the intense attacks at the beginning, a solid, unbroken shot gives each scene an extra layer of authenticity. Later, however, when they are following characters talking to each other, or following another through an empty cabin, the cinema verite style seems very out of place; almost making it more like a reality show than a film.
Technical issues aside, does the film deliver on an emotional level? To put it mildly, yes and no. The filmmakers took great care to ensure that you felt everything that happened to Glass. From the fist-clenching bear attack to his final, bloody confrontation with his son’s killer, the film slowly, methodically, lumbers along. To that end, it almost feels like you have suffered alongside him, if for no other reason than it took two and a half hours to come to a somewhat satisfying conclusion. Additionally, everyone involved decided to act as seriously as possible, so there isn’t much variation in tone throughout. Granted, this is heavy subject matter, but when each character acts with such intensity all the time, it’s hard to know what moments are truly gripping. Because of this, you walk away appreciating the effort put in, but not really being affected by the emotional trauma endured by the main character. Overall, the “Revenant” was an enjoyable film, but can make the more ADD prone fall asleep. I almost did.

Jonathan Houston

Jonathan is a freelance writer living in the greater LA area. He likes to watch movies, eat great food, and sip on a nice glass of aged rum, although not necessarily in that order.