Synopsis
The Revenant is a 2015 film directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu which draws from true happenings as an epic survival drama. The film is an emotionally gripping tale of survival and vengeance set in the 19th century American wilderness, and is inspired by the life of a frontiersman named Hugh Glass.
The narrative is set in the year 1823, and it revolves around Hugh Glass, a fur trapper and a skilled tracker who was working with a bunch of frontiersmen led by a client, Captain Andrew Henry. While navigating the wilderness, the team gets ambushed by Arikara Native Americans, who attack and force the group to abandon most of their fur pelts. Glass, who is traveling with his half-Pawnee son Hawk, takes the lead as the group’s guide through the bucket of jagged rocks and sheer cliffs.
While the team is trying to navigate through difficult terrain, Glass meets with life threatening injuries as he is brutally mauled by a grizzly bear. Although the other men risk their lives in a desperate attempt to help Glass, the harsh environment, low morale, and the threat of more attacks means there is no hope to carry him for long.
Reluctantly, Captain Henry decides to part ways with Glass, offering a monetary bounty to anyone willing to be with him until death claims him. Two men take up the bounty: John Fitzgerald, a heartless and cynical trapper, and Jim Bridger, a young and impressionable recruit. Hawk also stays back to protect his father.
Fitgerald soon grows restive and decides to push things along. He kills Hawk in full view of a helpless Glass and lies to Bridger, claiming both Hawk and Glass passed away due to natural causes. They go on to bury Glass alive and abandon him in the deathly cold wilderness.
Somehow, Glass is able to survive. Vowing to exact vengeance for the memory of his dead son, he embarks on a slow and painful journey through mountains, rivers, and forests. Along the way, he battles starvation, infection, hostile tribes, and the merciless elements.
In the process of enduring unimaginable hardship and healing, Glass is intermittently aided by Native Americans, including a Pawnee man who shares his food with him and guides him spiritually. Glass’s journey becomes one of dire physical survival and profound spiritual reckoning. Flashing back to his past life and his dead family gives him tremendous resolve and the will to survive.
The film ends with a savage confrontation between Glass and Fitzgerald that spurs Glass to track Fitzgerald to a distant outpost. There, Glass engages Fitzgerald in a furious battle and inflicts fatal injuries on him. Glass’s choice to not directly kill Fitzgerald, but rather to toss him into a river, thematically showcases his personal transformation. Fitzgerald is then finished off by Arikara warriors who had been pursuing him. Glass succumbs to his self-inflicted scars and retreats further into the wilderness, left to think about his personal transformation.
Cast and Characters
Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass
The role is a culmination of one of the most physically and emotionally challenging performances DiCaprio has ever given, as he plays the nearly mute Glass, who conveys most of his feelings through vigorous movements. DiCaprio had to film under extreme weather conditions and underwent harsh physically demanding conditions for a long time to ensure Glass’s character was authentic.
Tom Hardy as John Fitzgerald
The hard-shelled antagonist Fitzgerald is played by Hardy with a gritty sense of realism. Fitzgerald is a character self-absorbed to a fault, violent, and devoid of morals, all of which hard world molded into him. Hardy brings menace and unpredictability to the role.
Domhnall Gleeson as Captain Andrew Henry
Gleeson portrays the lead who has to balance his loyalty with practicality. He is faced with the ethical dilemmas of how to survive in a hostile land.
Will Poulter as Jim Bridger
Poulter’s Bridger is a man torn between conflicting morals and actions. While Bridger is under the control of Fitzgerald, he eventually feels remorse, which adds layers to his internal struggle.
Forrest Goodluck as Hawk
Hawk is also described as the mixed-race son of Glass which symbolizes the part of him that connects the Pawnee people to Glass. His death serves as the emotional turning point of the film’s story.
Direction, Cinematography, and Style
The Revenant is a cinematatic masterpice directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Emmanuel Lubezki, who won an oscar for his work in Gravity and Birdman, serves as the film’s cinematographer. The importance of long takes, handheld tracking shots and the wides and sno that outlines the film’s majn features is stunning.
The use of natural settings, as opposed to sound stages, adds a sense of realism, but also made filming very difficult. The mountainous regions, along with the operated sound stages presented, suffered freezing temperatures. As a result, many cast and crew members physically strained themselves. However and in turn, this made the film very emotional, as it invited you to feel every breath, wound and snow.
The Themes And Symbolism
The Revenant is more than a story of revenge; it is a film of philosophy that taps into:
- Survival and Human Endurance: The film showcases the limits that the human body and spirit can undergo to survive.
- Grief and Revenge: Glass’s emotional and physical journeys intertwine. His wish to take revenge transforms into an understanding of loss.
- Man vs Nature: Nature in the revenant is majestic and merciless. Nature is more than just a setting; it is a force that propels the story forward.
Colonialism and Cultural Identity: The film touches on the brutal violence of colonialism and the cultural identity of the native american tribes. The relationship that Glass has with his pawnee son, along with other native characters, adds a cultural and spiritual depth to the film.
Overview of Critical Review
The Revenant received awards globally in the category of best film for it’s direction, acting, cinematic shots, and realism. The revenant has also earned more than $500 million in revenue.
The film earned important awards:
Academy Awards (Oscars):
Best Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio (his first Oscar win)
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki
The film was nominated for a total of 12 Oscars, which included Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Tom Hardy), Best Costume Design, and Best Sound Editing.
The film was praised by critics for its technical excellence and for DiCaprio’s relentless dedication to the role. While some viewers felt the story was slow and dark, the majority agreed that the film was a riveting experience.
The Revenant (2015) goes beyond the mere classification of a survival film. It is a cinematic journey of suffering, rage, and redemption. Through haunting imagery and raw emotion, the film reveals the struggles faced by a human being who fights for survival against relentless odds.
The film, which is anchored by Leonardo DiCaprio’s unforgettable performance and Alejandro Iñárritu’s visionary direction, stands as a testament to the power of cinema to portray the brutality and beauty of life. Whether one sees the film as a revenge thriller, a survival epic, or a spiritual journey, Iñárritu’s film is unforgettable and, unflinching, poetic, and profoundly moving.
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