The Revenant
starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter
screenplay by Mark L. Smith and Alejandro G. Iñárritu
directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Rating: ♦♦♦◊◊
Based on book by Michael Punke, this is a famous recent movie, so I was looking forward to its release on DVD, although I am not a Leonardo DiCaprio fan. Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) is a Pawnee-speaking guide for a group of fur trappers in the American wilderness of 1823. The trappers are attacked by a band of Arikawa Indians and they have to flee their planned route - the river - and try to make it back to their base, Fort Kiowa, by travelling cross country. The Arikawa are hunting a group of French who kidnapped one of their women, but they will kill any whites they encounter. The trappers are divided: trust Glass t guide them safely home, or leave him and stick to the river as originally planned. One of their members, Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), is a menacing malcontent throughout the film, seriously undermining their purpose. He’s the sort of guy you don’t want on your team because he’s not a team player. Glass is badly mauled by a grizzly bear and nearly killed. The group rescues him, but is then further burdened with his care while they continue their trek. Fitzgerald kills Glass’s half-Pawnee son, Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), then buries Glass alive and abandons him.
Glass survives, hence the title The Revenant. “Revenant,” a person who has returned, especially supposedly from the dead. He makes it back to Fort Kiowa, and he sets out to pursue Fitzgerald through the country to take revenge for murdering his son.
The grizzly bear attack was a gruesome bit of cinematography. I hated watching it.
The Indian actors were excellent, and the portrayal of First Nations people was very good. I enjoyed that.
The Americans were a filthy bunch of mountain men. No baths, not haircuts, no oral hygiene. No electricity, no roads, no warm blankets, no cement. No food cleanly wrapped in neat cellophane. Pretty ugly. But that’s what life was like on the frontier, wasn’t it? Frightening. The main impressions I came away with were filthy, cold, wet, and ungroomed people.
I didn’t see what the big deal was about this film, although its production seems already to be legendary for difficulty and endurance.