A fiery sunset over a wintry landscape. Stark, open expanses of nothingness. Brutal violence and spiritual growth. These are all images and themes that come to mind when viewing The Revenant. The latest film from Mexican director Alejandro Innaritu, whose work includes 21 Grams and Babel, is a semi-autobiographical Western based on the life of fur trapper Hugh Glass. Glass is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who delivers a raw and uncompromising performance in this role.
The film begins with Glass and a larger team of fur traders hunting for pelts in the wilderness that encompasses the recent Louisiana Purchase. Not even ten minutes into the film, the group is ambushed by a tribe of hostile Native American warriors and most of them are killed. This scene is an expertly shot and harrowing experience. The camera quickly pans back and forth from the Native American attackers and the fur traders trying to resist this onslaught. After this initial attack, the remnants of the group, including glass and his young son, Hawk, must attempt to traverse the rocky and barren landscape in hopes of reaching civilization again.
It should be noted that The Revenant is in no way a pleasant viewing experience. There are numerous scenes of both intense and graphic violence. And, at over one hundred and fifty minutes, it is not a short one either. However, one of the most striking aspects of this film is the juxtaposition of extreme violence and utter beauty. The extreme violence is interspersed with images of majestic landscapes and bright, sweeping colors. The notion that horrific acts can take place surrounded by beauty and wonder was one of my favorite aspects of this film.
Viewers, much like Glass, will be tested when watching this film. At times, the movie can feel almost uncompromisingly bleak. There are several selfish and violent characters in this film who will do just about anything in order to survive. However, I would argue that through this violence and pain, the film reaches a transcendent and otherworldly state. You become one with the landscape and the wilderness. You become one with Glass, who spends the movie trying so desperately to just survive. In this way, the endurance test that the movie puts the viewer through is eventually greatly rewarded.
There has been a trend with Hollywood films to present easily digestible plots and cliche characters. There are many people, some of whom may be reading this, who go to the movies to merely be entertained. They do not want to be challenged or confronted in even the slightest way. They want to have their viewpoints reassured and their morals strengthened. If you fall into this category, than I do not believe that The Revenant would be the best movie for you to see.
However, for those of you who buck the traditional Hollywood trends, who want to see a film that is unquestionably more layered, complex, and challenging than most of what Hollywood has produced in recent years, The Revenant should definitely be on your list.
