The Revenant

"The revenant," from the 19th century French verb revenant, meaning someone who returns from a long absence, or a person or thing reborn.”

This movie is about love, survival and revenge. For the first three fourths of the movie DiCaprio has little to no dialogue. What is better acting with dialogue or without? If done well both are effective. In this movie DiCaprio gives a tremendous physical performance with close ups framing his emotions. The physical demands of this performance are a tremendous challenge which DiCaprio meets.  When DiCaprio does speak it is a crescendo for all the tribulations he suffered.

In part this movie is based on the real life adventures of early 1800’s trapper Hugh Glass. Scenes in the movie are attributed to Glass’s story (DiCaprio’s character is named Glass). This movie is brutal.  The opening scene is an attack by Indians with carnage reminiscent of the opening scene in “Saving Private Ryan” for is visceral depiction of battle.  If you are uncomfortable with very realistic gore this is not your movie.

The movie is stark, almost minimalist. There are haunting vistas of snow covered forests and ice cold running rivers. This sets a somber mood reflective of Glass’ tortured journey. The cinematography is stunning and the vast emptiness of territory magnifies the harshness of Glass’s sojourn. The shoot must have been extremely difficult to make.

Tom Hardy plays his usual tough guy role. He has plenty of dialogue and mercifully the English accent dialed back. As Glass’s antagonist he did an excellent job. Domhnall Gleeson is becoming a staple in American cinema. He usually plays laid back characters, but here as the leader of the expedition he is more intense and challenged.. He does a fine job. Will Poulter plays Jim Bridger, the young trapper manipulated by Tom Hardy. For Poulter this is a dramatic shift from his early comedic role in “We are the Millers” where he plays a clueless nerd.

Native American Indians are prominent in this movie. They are brutalized and brutal themselves. With atrocities on both sides it is hard to see who is the savage. Then there are the French, they do not come off to well.

I saw the movie on a Tuesday afternoon, the theater was packed. This movie is getting a lot of Academy buzz. It may not be for everyone, but am glad that I saw it.