directed by Alejandro Inarritu
written by Alejandro Inarritu and Mark Smith
There's something primal about the appeal of a revenge movie, the thought of someone who does great evil to another receiving his comeuppance, especially since it's something that rarely happens in real life. The more heinous the offense, the more gruesome the revenge, and ultimately the more satisfying the viewing experience. Revenge stories have been told on the silver screen so frequently over the years that the secret to a really good one anymore is all in the telling. It's all about atmosphere, and creating both a protagonist and an antagonist who are utterly compelling to watch.
In this regard, Alejandro Inarritu succeeds with his new film The Revenant, in which his protagonist played by Leonardo diCaprio and his antagonist played by Tom Hardy are written and played to utter perfection.
The film is loosely based on the story of 19th century fur trapper Hugh Glass (diCaprio). The events in the film take place in 1823, in which Glass is accompanying a party of trappers under the command of another fictionalized historical figure Captain Andrew Henry (Domnhall Gleeson) somewhere in North Dakota. Animal pelts are extremely valuable and are used as currency by the Americans, the French and the native tribes populating the landscape, and it is no surprise that the band of trappers are attacked by a group of natives known as the Ree, who kill most of their party before they are able to escape to their boat. Due to the terrible weather the group is forced to abandon their boat and their haul of pelts and make their way back to their outpost, Fort Kiowa, on foot, over the loud protests of one of the trappers, John Fitzgerald (Hardy). Glass, who has been invaluable to the troop as their guide, is then attacked and nearly killed by a grizzly bear. The troop patches him up as best they can and take him with them as they try to find their way back, but when they are unable to navigate the frozen wasteland without Glass's help, they are forced to leave him, albeit with three people standing guard: his half-Pawnee son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) and Fitzgerald. Fearing for his own safety and sure that Glass is as good as dead given the severity of his injuries, Fitzgerald attempts to murder Glass as he lies helpless on his stretcher, after convincing himself that Glass has consented to being euthanised. Bridger is away fetching water, but Hawk intervenes, and Fitzgerald murders him right before the helpless Glass's eyes. Fitzgerald hides Hawk's body, then lies to Bridger, telling him they are about to be attacked by a large band of Ree, convincing him to basically abandon Glass to his fate, and the two of them leave Glass for dead.
But Glass doesn't die, and as he crawls out of the makeshift grave Fitzgerald dug and then hastily dumped him into, his body still a mangled shell of what it once was, he is fueled with rage and the desire for revenge, but he knows that, before all else, he must survive.
As revenge movies go, this one ticks all the boxes with a truly despicable villain in Hardy's Fitzgerald, a foul-mouthed bigot whose attitude towards Glass and his son is established early on in the film to the extent that, even without the marketing for this movie describing him as the heavy, viewers will be able to see from a mile away what he's going to do. Glass's journey, however, isn't just towards revenge as he claws his way back from the very edge of death itself, but towards some truly important realizations as he makes his way across the inhospitable landscape and slowly manages to heal.
The film is as much about Glass's titanic (sorry, couldn't resist) battle to survive as it is his desire to avenge his son, and it is a raw, extreme experience. Seeing diCaprio endure freezing weather, I had to wonder just how much of this experience Hollywood was able to sanitize for him; I highly doubt the rapids in which he floated about were heated to his liking. While he certainly was not attacked by a bear in real life (and the computer-generated imagery that went into that horrifying encounter deserves special mention), it is quite clear that diCaprio, and to a lesser extent the cast in general, endured some pretty challenging conditions to shoot this movie. In short, if diCaprio walks home with the golden statue come Oscar night, one could justifiably say he went well above and beyond the call of duty to earn it.
Although the film was based on real events, I get that, at least at some point, it is meant to be impressionistic rather than realistic, which would explain the many dream sequences and visions Glass has and the fact that in the third act, verisimilitude kind of goes out the window with some pretty extreme action sequences. There's a beauty and irony to the way the harsh landscape in which Glass nearly dies actually plays a part in his healing.
Though the action and violence was unabashedly over the top, I have to say, I like how the revenge plot played out. I confess, though, that the way the movie resolved its central conflict felt a little heavy-handed, and somewhat out of left field. Sure, by the time the big reveal is made, the script has already dropped plenty of hints at what is going to happen, but I still felt incredulous when I saw it; a revenge flick was the last place I had expected to find a religious theme, but there it was, in bright neon letters.
This is actually a movie I can wholeheartedly recommend to Christians of all denominations, especially Catholics, what with the depiction of redemptive suffering. Also, it champions indigenous people and the environment more effectively than overwrought narrative cliches like Dances with Wolves and Avatar ever did.
There are some cons, though; like I said, the violence gets over-the-top at some points (though I'm not referring to the bear attack, which is easily the most extreme sequence of the film), and the film is at least fifteen minutes too long.
It is a rewarding, if somewhat exhausting film to watch. One caveat I have for viewers is to try to avoid watching it in an empty theater, as an overpowering air conditioner, accompanied with the vivid imagery of snow and ice, can make for a somewhat unpleasant sensory experience.
8.1/10
No comments:
Post a Comment