Last year, Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu landed the Academy Award for Best Director for the film
Birdman. It was well deserved. This year, Iñarritu has reloaded with another stellar cast, and after watching his newest film The Revenant, it is clear this talented director is no fluke.
Loosely based on actual events, The Revenant stars Leonardo Dicaprio as Hugh Glass, a member of a group of fur traders in the 1800’s. After an attack by a native tribe searching for their chief’s daughter forces the group to retreat from an expedition, Glass is attacked and severely injured by a wild grizzly bear. The attack causes tensions to flare between the group’s captain (Domhnall Gleeson) and hothead John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) about whether to abandon Glass. After taking matters into his own hands and killing Glass’ half Native American son, Fitzgerald leaves Glass to die, only for him to fight for survival and make a quest across the winter wilderness in search of vengeance.
Revenge is a key theme of this film, but survival is perhaps the word that best describes the tone. Most of the movie is dominated by Leonardo DiCaprio giving a very realistic performance as a wounded survivalist; building a fire, finding shelter, and running from angry natives. Many of those elements make the film drag and grow a bit stale in parts. The subplot about the Native American chief in search of his daughter also takes up too much screen time.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s long quest for an Academy Award has dominated the press for this film. But it is actually Tom Hardy’s menacing performance that really drives the narrative. From the start, Hardy’s John Fitzgerald establishes himself as a selfish, greedy, but fiercely intelligent character. The quotable moments delivered by Hardy and some beautiful cinematography of the northern landscapes are what truly make The Revenant a film worth seeing. That and, of course, the gripping final showdown between DiCaprio and Hardy at the film’s climax.
FINAL GRADE: B+
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