The Revenant has been described more than once as an "epic art film." This is not a bad description. This movie is a technical marvel from start to finish, a real achievement in sheer production value. This is where its artistry truly lies, and that might be enough. People looking for something deeper within the film's craft may come out a bit disappointed, however. The film is strangely empty, in spite of some stabs at relevance. The Revenant provides the appearance of something greater, even if there isn't really much behind it. Given that, the appearance itself might be worth seeking out.
Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the scout for a party of fur trappers working their way through the then-wild Dakotas. They're trying to make their way back home to Fort Kiowa on foot after being attacked by Native Americans. Glass encounters a grizzly bear while hunting in the forest. The scout sustains major injuries, and becomes a burden on the expedition. Trapper Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) is left to care for him while the party moves on through the mountains. But Fitzgerald instead murders Glass' half-Pawnee son Hawk and then leaves the scout for dead in the snow. Miraculously, Glass survives his injuries, and he tries to live long enough to take revenge on the man who has taken everything away from him.
This is a very straightforward movie. Though there are digressions to the main thread that indicate some sort of meditation on the violent foundations of American society, the movie's ideas are facile at best. When all is said and done, what rises above everything in the movie is this very simple story of survival and revenge, of one remarkable man driven by his hatred of another man to defy all odds and live through the savage conditions of the American frontier. The little bits of thematic construction, which touch on issues of race and flirt with mysticism, don't add up to very much.
The movie is mostly enriching in its craft. This film, from end to end, probably contains some of the astounding scenes in recent memory. Within the first few minutes, the audience is thrown in the midst of a deadly raid, most of it shot in one unbroken take. The bear attack is one of the most terrifying and visceral sequences ever shot, and the technique that must have been involved in putting it together is mind-boggling. The movie offers scene after scene of awe-inspiring craft, and that craft buoys this simple narrative into the realm of gripping cinema.
The movie might be worth seeing for the visuals alone. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki is clearly at the height of his powers, harnessing natural light in remarkable ways. Production designer Jack Fisk gives Lubezki plenty of interesting detail to shoot. Director Iñàrittu finds the odd beauty in the violence that ensues, and allows us to linger in the discomfiting strangeness. Leonardo DiCaprio is mesmerizing as Glass, the actor tapping into an animalistic reserve to depict the character's grim determination. There are a few odd choices in the supporting cast, but DiCaprio more or less sustains the entire movie.
The Revenant feels like an odd mix of Terence Malick and Michael Bay. It takes its appearance from Malick, an air of meditation that indicates the sublime lying just beneath the surface. But like Bay, the movie becomes more about the technique than the themes. The Revenant is a technical marvel that doesn't really say very much in the end, a wonder of craft directed towards nihilism. And this isn’t really a bad thing. The movie must be experienced specifically for that craft. It may not be transcendent in its themes, but it comes terribly close in its production.
My Rating:
