Review of The Revenant (2015) by Scott K — 15 Sep 2016

" The Revenant" is a movie directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and first released at the end of 2015. Inspired by true events in the novel of the same name, the movie captures the epic adventure of a man led by the human spirit in his multiple attempts of survival while he seeks for revenge. The film is set in the 1800s, starring Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) who travels with his tribe and his son who is half White and Native-American. After escaping from an Indian attack, Glass is attacked by a bear that almost kills him. Miraculously, he survives the attack and kills the bear. His tribe carries him and protects him until John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) tells the tribe that they should abandon Glass because he is a burden to them. After presumably burying Glass, John Fitzgerald kills Glass's son, which leads to Glass's attempts of survival and revenge. An Indian eventually saves Hugh Glass from dying. At the climax of the movie both characters (Hugh Glass and John Fitzgerald) fight and ultimately Hugh Glass gets what he wanted: revenge.

Alejandro G. Iñárritu and his co-writer Mark L. Smith did a good job in offering the audiences a movie where they are not only invited to watch a film, but also to immersed in a lost era. Emmanuel Lubezki the cinematographer of "Gravity" and "Birdman or (The unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" had the hard task of translating into visuals the script written by Smith and Iñárritu. He executed a unique job while working on this piece whose visuals are beyond what one can expect from modern cinema. It almost feels as if we as spectators are being included in this adventure. The score of this movie done by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto, enforces the already established loneliness and self-exploration tones of the film with a melodic atmosphere that could pass unnoticeably.

The performances of Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hardy are outstanding and they elevate what could have been just another Western Hollywood film. Leonardo plays a character that is not verbal, but rather driven by instinct. He conveys his character with the use of minimal words, powerful facial expressions and small dialogues; sometimes he even speaks in a different language. Hardy's way of portraying the villain in the story could have only been done by Hardy himself, because of his originality and his way of expressing emotions. It is because of their performances that the spectators are invested in the human element and the elements of nature.

It is really hard nowadays to watch a movie and wonder how the director managed to do some of the takes, because a lot of what is shown today is Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), which means that the scenes with CGI are only done during the post-production of a film. There are still some directors that would try to show the real beauty of a created world through unaltered imagery. Iñárritu embarked himself and his team on a dangerous journey to bring to the audience real images of our world in the most dire conditions. The imagery of this movie is primal landscapes straight out of the coldest and most remote places on Earth. The movie offers wide long takes that embrace the power of nature; natural lighting that defied the conventional knowledge on lighting movies, and many other elements that combined to offer the audience an opportunity to really experience a film.

It is certainly that this film it is not for every taste. It is long and kind of repetitive, requiring a lot of empathy from the audience. The plot of the movie is not revolutionary at all, the predominance of silent scenes with just ambient sounds and short dialogues might bore the audience, however this review may work as an open invitation for the audiences out there still hesitating on watching the movie.

"The Revenant" is a film that visually portrays the poetry of what it means to have a very little chance of survival. The imagery of this film is unique and different from what the industry offers. The score of the movie provides a sense of horror and beauty while remaining almost unnoticeable, and the acting and environments are the elements that complement the originality and creativity of this award-winning film.

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