Although I personally was not a fan of Birdman, the previous film by Alejandro González Iñárritu, I think he is a director whose films I’m always interested in seeing. Babel impressed me and his 21 Grams is in my top 100 favorite movies. On a technical level he has grown a lot and through his collaboration with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (who worked on movies like Gravity, Children of Men, Birdman and The Tree of Life) you are assured of visual splendour. The Revenant is certainly no exception.
One could have a discussion about whether or not The Revenant could be described as splendor, as the story takes place around 1823, where hygiene hardly exists. It is a dirty existence for the group of men who try to survive in nature as they hunt animals for their pelts (which generate a lot of money). That work, however, is not without risks, because you are not only fighting the unforgiving nature but the Indians do everything to kill intruders. During the opening of the movie you experience this first hand in an impressively shot attack. As the arrows shoot past your ears you feel attacked as the camera does things which seem impossible, all in one long shot. There were several times where I wondered how they have achieved that, such as when a fairly static camera suddenly is riding with an Indian on horseback. The end result of the attack is that many men don’t survive, but a small group manages to escape by boat and they will need to survive.
Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the group’s guide. He knows the area well, knows how to survive the harsh conditions and who travels together with his son (who is half-Indian), John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) doesn’t like him, but sees the need for his presence. When Glass, however, unexpectedly is attacked by a bear (which is portrayed in an extremely convincing way) the group is forced to take care of him. When conditions deteriorate further the group decides to travel without him and leave Glass with Fitzgerald along with some others. But as the situation changes Glass is left for dead and it is up to him to survive in hostile territory.
That it must have been quite an undertaking to realize this film is apparent. Although I’m sure that the crew had a lot of equipment with them to stay warm it must have been a huge challenge. Iñárritu wanted to shoot in natural light, which meant that the number of hours available to shoot was limited. But watching the final movie it has paid off. This is a film which is not only visually stunning, but also in terms of acting. Both DiCaprio and Hardy put in top performances and it would not surprise me if this role finally gives DiCaprio his first well-deserved Oscar. During two hours he needs to emote a lot without talking much, but he succeeds completely. The Revenant is a film about survival and revenge which doesn’t let go for a moment and to me is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.
Great to read you liked it so much. I didn’t care for Birdman either but this is such a step up from it. I saw it the first time and really went for it. But it was the second viewing that would really put me in tune with what AGI is doing. Loved it.
One I do want to see a second time, but probably at home later this year. Impressive filmmaking.
I feel like with The Revenant even if it’s a film you didn’t enjoy, not a film you’d normally like and even one you would never watch again, you still have to appreciate it so much for all that it achieves and ties together in a magnificent way.
Exactly, from a filmmaking perspective alone it is worth seeing.
This making of documentary is interesting as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJfTfsXFbLk