Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) in The Revenant is a fur trapper attacked by a grizzly bear and left for dead by his hunting companion, Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Consumed by raw desire for revenge, he fights for his life and crawls his way through the harsh and starkly beautiful North American frontier. This is inspired by true events.
In the deft hands of DP Emmanuel Lubezki, and through Alejandro G. Iñarritu's directorial vision, the camera doesn't just record the action and the drama, but drags you right in the center of it all—in full macro perception. So you walk along with the men, fall, get punched, and shot. Ripped apart by the grizzly. Arrowed by Arikara Native Americans. Snow, blood, spit, mud, and guts obscure your eyes, your body reacting to the pain. And in moments of meditation and journey, you are assaulted by the awesome and poetic beauty of the vast wilderness.
DiCaprio effectively grunts and wheezes his way though his tribulation, eloquent in his silence. And Iñarritu has made sure that you experience his ordeal, complete with whispery and haunting music, and so you become one in spirit with Glass and in commune with nature, which, in this movie, is one majestic and indifferent breathing organism.
Iñarritu's deeply poetic take of this survival and revenge story results in an otherworldly and multisensory experience. Combining both art and hyperrealism, Iñarritu whisks you to a physical, emotional, and metaphysical journey. The visuals are more powerful than the story, yes, and sometimes Glass' misfortunes are a bit excessive to the point of mildly comical, but this spectacular, grandiose film is truly a work of genius.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Opens February 3, 2016 in Philippines cinemas
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