The Revenant

Four out of Four Stars



A sprawling and jarring two and a half hours, The Revenant is a no holds barred look at survival of the fittest. Think Jeremiah Johnson on peyote. Set in the Midwestern wilderness in 1820, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his son (Forrest Goodluck) lead a group of soldiers through Indian territories shedding sweat and blood for pelts. During the expedition, Glass is mauled by a grizzly bear and tries to cling on to life much to the dismay of John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), a ruthless fur trader who kills Glass' son and leaves Glass for dead. Filled with a thirst for revenge, Glass weathers the harsh elements of nature in order to claim something wealthier than gold, retribution.

 Leonardo DiCaprio gives a stellar and ambitious performance as Hugh Glass with such physical and dramatic demand. Raw, angry, and evocative, DiCaprio gives a performance worth it's weight in gold as he goes to great lengths to track down his son's assailant such as burning scars on his neck to stop the flow of blood, enduring a shootout with French traders, or climbing into a dead horse for warmth. 

Tom Hardy is no stranger to playing villains, such as his work on The Dark Knight Rises or Legend, but his performance as Fitzgerald is as villainous and violent as any other sociopath he has played. Domnihall Gleeson gives a solid supporting performance as Captain Henry, who relies on Glass' tracking expertise through the wilderness. Will Poulter, known for his performance in Son of Rambow, is brilliant as Bridger, a morally conflicted soldier who doubts the actions taken by Fitzgerald. 

A year after Birdman, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu delivers another stunning and visceral work of art. Collaborating with cinematographer extraordinaire Emmanuel "Chivo" Lubezki, Inarritu crafts a film as visually stunning as David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia with the supernatural quality that mirrors Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line and The New World.

Forrest Goodluck and Duane Howard also give exemplary performances. Unlike the previous string of westerns this past year (Slow West, The Hateful Eight), The Revenant shows a beautiful and harrowing perspective from the Native Americans as they are also trying to find their form of vengeance. It's not as schmaltzy as Dances With Wolves as it has the same grit and existentialism as Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man.

In short, The Revenant is a harrowing film that is as expansive and wild as the wilderness depicted in Michael Punke's novel.