The
Revenant is an apt title (for one who returns after death) because Hugh
Glass (DiCaprio) gets wounds severe enough to kill him—several times. He is mauled by a grizzly bear, is
stitched up by someone whose father was a doctor, and before his wounds heal he
is dragged, almost smothered to death, almost buried alive, shot at…well, you
get it. I was reminded of Mel
Gibson’s Passion of the Christ when
he pulls his heavy cross up a hill after he has been beaten so severely it’s
difficult to see how he is alive, much less able to carry a cross. When films go to this extreme, they
lose me.
The one thing that compensates for this is the
ever-stunning cinematography of Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman, Gravity, To the Wonder, Tree of Life). His camera revels in nature, and he
enhances it with lighting, interesting contrasts and juxtapositions, and
texture. One of many examples in
this film is when torches are being carried in a night scene with a red glow in
the background, and stately, majestic trees towering through it all. The trees—shown theme-like over and
over—pick up on symbolic dialog spoken by Glass’s dead wife about how the
branches of a tree might look like the tree is going to be felled by a strong
wind, but when its roots are strong, it survives.
DiCaprio’s performance is a tour de force; he
does not—is not able to—say much during the whole film, but is eloquent in his
grunts and actions. His eyes alone
can convey the message. The
subtitle of the novel on which the film is based indicates that the story is
about revenge, and the film highlights that aspect, giving it a noble
connotation in that Glass has every reason to be vengeful. And the actor is to be admired for
enduring the brutal elements during the nine months of filming, which started
in Canada, but was moved to Argentina when a warming trend melted the snow in
Canada.
Tom Hardy is adept in different kinds of roles,
and here he plays the villain, and makes you grow to hate and disdain the
character. He is especially good
at being glib but convincing when he argues about doing something that’s
actually wrong. He is one of the
few actors who can keep the viewer mesmerized during a two-hour drive just
talking on the phone! (in Locke).
I loved Innarritu’s Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel, and Birdman, but this film does not
measure up to those accomplishments.
My problem with The Revenant is with the script, both in its content and in its
length. Because of the illogical
content, the movie is over long.
And it’s become a cliché in action movies when two adversaries both lose
their weapons and then resort to hand-to-hand combat. Ending a story like this in hand-to-hand combat with one of
the players almost dead from his wounds weakens the conclusion.
The cinematography and DiCaprio’s
performance are the main reasons to see The
Revenant.
Grade: B By Donna
R. Copeland
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