– By Cate Marquis –
DiCaprio is gripping in epic wilderness survival tale ‘The Revenant’
Leonardo DiCaprio gives a gripping, Oscar-worthy performance in “The Revenant,” director Alejandro G. Inarritu’s thrilling, raw tale of wilderness survival in a landscape that is at once beautiful and unforgiving. Loosely based on the 1823 true tale of frontiersman Hugh Glass, DiCaprio plays a man mauled by a bear and left for dead by his fellow fur trappers in the remote Rockies, a man who is driven to survive by a thirst for revenge. The title means one who returns from the dead.
While one of the year’s best films and found on many critics’ top ten lists, including this one’s, the film’s graphic and realistic nature means it is not for everyone. For others, that realism heightens the film’s dramatic power for this adventure, which was filmed on location in strikingly beautiful photography by Emmanuel Lubezki. The beauty of the natural world offers a stark contrast with the violence, blood and grime of the human struggle taking place in that landscape. It provides a perfect frame for this remarkable tale of strength of will, revenge, redemption, family and faith.
This is a film of action more than words, and opens with a stunning, bloody action sequence. Seasoned mountain man Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) is serving as a guide to an American fur trapping expedition led by Captain Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson) but is away from the camp, hunting for food, when the trappers are attacked by Arikara warriors as they prepare to load their furs on a boat for their return trip. Returning to the fight in full force, Glass helps survivors escape downstream with a new sense of the danger that surrounds them as winter approaches.
Survivors including Captain Henry, trapper John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) and a teen-aged future legendary frontiersman Jim Bridger (Will Poulter).
Glass is accompanied by another teen, his half-Pawnee son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), whom he raised alone after his Pawnee wife was killed in a military raid on their village. Memories of his dead wife (Grace Dove) haunt Glass in his dreams throughout his journey. The Arikara warriors that attacked the expedition are led by a grizzled chief, Elk Dog (Duane Howard), who is determinedly searching for his kidnapped daughter Powaqa (Melaw Nakehk’o). Elk Dog believes Powaqa is held by the trappers, and trades with a group of French trappers, lead by a nasty fellow named Toussaint (Fabrice Adde), for weapons and horses, interactions that the director uses to reveal the Arikara’s resentment and sorrow at the invasion of their lands.
On Glass’ advice, Captain Henry abandons the river and their boat as too dangerous and undertakes a more difficult cross-country trek to the nearest fort. Henry orders them to stash their fortune in furs, to which the talkative, resentful Fitzgerald objects strenuously with a string of racist abuse. Along the way, Glass goes hunting alone for food for the group but encounters a mother bear and cubs, with disastrous results. When his companions find the mauled Glass, they are shocked he is still alive but are certain his wounds are fatal. But the wounded man does not die right away and after struggling to carry him up the mountains, Major Henry decides to leave him behind. He offers a cash bonus to two of his men willing to stay behind with the dying man and give him a decent burial. Fitzgerald and Bridger volunteer to stay with Glass and his son Hawk for the few more hours the wounded man is expected to live.
When Glass does not die quickly, Fitzgerald hatches a plan that leaves him for dead, alone and without a weapon in the wilderness. Yet despite Fitzgerald’s efforts and his grave wounds, Glass does not die, and begins a journey crawling across the mountains fueled by rage and revenge. The journey is spiritual as well as physical, which takes us through a human world filled with hostilities and moral murkiness, as well as the overwhelming remoteness and wildness of the early nineteenth-century Rocky Mountains.
Employing the same kind of restless and riveting camera work they used for the Oscar-winning “Birdman,”director Inarritu and cinematographer Lubezki create action sequences that grab viewers by the throat and never let go, amid breathtaking vistas of the wild natural world. Along the way, Glass faces many dangers but also encounters a Pawnee man (Arthur RedCloud), another solo traveler who helps him. The plot also follows the Americans in struggle to find their way through their way to the fort without their guide, the Arikaras’ sorrowful search for the lost girl and the French traders plying their trade.
The various journeys touch on the Native Americans’ losses to the invading white men, the devastating effect of greed and desperation on men in the wilderness and clash of cultures and values. Looming over it all is the grandeur and stern beauty of the natural landscape. As winter closes in, the screen is filled with snowy mountains, starry nights, rushing streams and pastel sunsets, as a herd of buffalo is attacked by wolves, wildfire lights the night or a meteor streaks across the sky. Director Inarittu chose not only to film on location but also with natural light, which gives scenes a remarkable sense and unique realism.
Encountering challenges and dangers over and over, DiCaprio portrays a man of inner strength and emotional complexity despite the film’s sparse dialog. DiCaprio uses his face and body to create character and tell his story. It is a performance that deserves an Oscar but it is not the only strong performance in this excellent drama. Tom Hardy is also brilliant as the talkative, scheming Fitzgerald as is Will Poulter as the young Jim Bridger, who is appalled by Fitzgerald’s immoral worldview but is too overwhelmed to speak up. Gleeson is excellent as Major Henry, a basically decent man caught in an uncertain world, as is Forrest Goodluck as Glass’ beloved and loyal son. The filmmakers deserve credit for casting actual Native Americans in the Arikara and Pawnee roles, even in the smaller parts. The actors bring a dignity and palpable authenticity to their roles, and they are all good.
“The Revenant” is epic in every sense, from the gripping action, remarkable realism, strong acting, striking photography and relentless drama and tension. This is a must-see film that deserves the many awards it is likely to garner in the coming awards season.
© Cate Marquis
