The Revenant (2015) – 8.5/10 – Gripping modern masterpiece with legendary cinematography
Overall
THE REVENANT is an adventure drama that is loosely based on true events. It merges revenge, survival in a harsh environment, human willpower, and redemption. I first watched this eight years ago and rewatched it with others. REVENANT is a wonderful depiction of the 1820s era, and it had one of the roughest production conditions in film history. The cast and crew’s attention to detail and work is incredible. The Academy nominated it for 12 Oscars and won three: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Director (Alejandro Inarritu), and Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki). 2016 was a rough year for movies with so many awesome nominations, including MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, THE MARTIAN, ROOM, BRIDGE OF SPIES, SPOTLIGHT, THE BIG SHORT, and CREED. Winning three Oscars against those competitors is noteworthy. Of those, I put Mad Max and The Martian a notch higher. Overall, this is an outstanding movie. My rating is 8.5/10.
Plot (spoiler-free)
In 1820s America, frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) leads a team of trappers to the present-day Dakotas in search of animal pelts. Captain Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson) is in charge of the expedition. During that expedition, warriors from the Native American tribe Arikara (also named the Ree) attacked them. A majority of the trappers die, but a small group led by Glass and fellow hunter John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) flees on a boat. Glass previously had a Native American wife and a son with her named Hawk. Hawk is part of the fleeing party. Glass, as their most experienced hunter, has them abandon the boat to travel on foot to Fort Kiowa. Soon, all hell breaks loose.
Technicals
THE REVENANT is a technical masterpiece. Cinematography, visuals, impeccable camerawork, incredible acting, brilliant direction, sound/score, costume design, and immersive atmosphere highlight this movie. To maintain realism, the film was shot using natural lighting outdoors in the brutal, remote wilderness of Canada and later Argentina. Having viewed around 1,650 movies in my life, I don’t think I’ve ever seen better cinematography. Much like reality, it’s authentic, brutal, fascinating, and graphic. One early scene stands out, where the filmmakers stitched multiple shots together to create the illusion of a single continuous shot. DiCaprio and Hardy give spectacular performances, along with the rest of the cast. The actors have limited dialogue, but DiCaprio had the least dialogue of his career. It focuses wholly on the acting. The storyline is straightforward with little story depth, but that wasn’t the focus. Because the entertainment value is so immense, the plot works. The storytelling style is magic, though. What could have been better? I believe the editing could have been tighter to increase the pacing. More focus on adding plot depth would help. Finally, there’s some minor mumbling, making subtitles a must.
Trivia Tidbits
The film relies on natural light except for one campfire scene, where the wind made it difficult to maintain the fire. This challenging requirement restricted them to just a few hours of shooting time daily. That lengthened the 80-day shoot to nine months because ideal conditions were necessary each day. Production began in Canada, but the production ran late, causing the snow to melt. The production relocated to Argentina, adding $30 million to the cost. Director Inarritu wanted to film the full movie in one continuous shot, like his other movie BIRDMAN, but the task seemed too daunting. Leonardo DiCaprio is a vegetarian, but he ate a raw bison liver in a scene—he vowed never to do that again. Inarritu’s requirement for perfection led to multiple crew members getting fired or quitting in the middle. During the filming of one scene, the weather became so cold in a hailstorm that the camera froze. DiCaprio asked Inarritu to stop. Hardy was signed for SUICIDE SQUAD (2016), but this film’s schedule forced him to leave SUICIDE SQUAD. Rumors said DiCaprio spent a night inside a horse carcass, but they proved false. DiCaprio called this the toughest acting job of his career. To prepare, he learned to shoot a musket, build a fire, speak two Native American languages (Pawnee and Arikara), and even study ancient healing techniques. He took a three-year break before returning for ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019). Hardy, concerned about a dangerous stunt, challenged director Inarritu to a wrestling match after doing the stunt. Inarritu agreed, and Hardy choked him out. Christian Bale was to play Glass, but DiCaprio landed the role.
Would I recommend this?
Yes, it’s a must-watch. I will place this among the 75 greatest movies I’ve seen (somewhere in the 70s). I can’t gush enough about the cinematography, acting, and directing. Though imperfect, this is art at its finest. Check it out if you haven’t. I don’t think the rewatch value is very high, but that one viewing is invaluable. Movies such as this don’t come along often.
*Obtained trivia facts from IMDb’s trivia page and plot/basic history/names information from Wiki
