After seeing “The Revenant” last night, I felt the urge to inform those of you who have yet to see but plan on doing so.
The Revenant is amazing. Completely, utterly and uncompromisingly amazing.
Its 2 hour and 45 minute runtime may feel like a stretch to some and considering that most of it consists of watching DiCaprio’s character “Glass” grunt, bleed and crawl through snowy muck, it can feel like a slog.
Thin on dialogue and thinner on plot, it’s easy to follow and simple to understand. However, Tom Hardy’s character “Fitzgerald” never seems to shut up, which doesn’t feel like a problem due to giving some of the film’s best lines.
I have never seen a movie that was more perfectly shot or more perfectly scored. Every single shot of the snowy mountains and dead forests is stunning to behold and the haunting score plays itself right into your soul. As each scene changes and you get another breathtaking shot of the fog and the snow, the music forces you to root the half-dead Glass back to life. Including a scene where he literally crawls out of his own grave.
Some scenes were shot in natural lighting and it shows in the film. Those scenes are easy to spot and stand out as the most beautiful in the film. Especially evident in a scene where a party of men is covered in blackness and silhouetted by their torches.
However, there is the notorious bear attack.
The attack sets the plot into motion and comes about 30 or so minutes into the film. The music stops and you can hear the faint yelps of two bear cubs that soon drift into the background of the shot. About 30 seconds later, mom comes running.
The attack was the single most vicious, violent and gruesome scene I’ve ever seen. The camera stays fixed on the attack and you see every bite and every rip of her claws. I’ve never felt genuine fear while watching a movie until I saw this bear leaning over DiCaprio and breathing into his face.
The attack isn’t over the top and blood doesn’t come spewing out onto the camera, but you feel the weight of each strike. It’s hard to watch someone be so realistically and horribly mauled. Of course, the fact that Glass survives the attack ensures that you root for him for the rest of the film.
Aside from the score and the cinematography, it was amazing to see every character be flawed. No character was the hero and no character was morally pure. DiCaprio’s “Glass” is certainly the protagonist, but he wills himself back to life so he can track down and murder Tom Hardy’s Fitzgerald. Each man is fueled by hatred and viscera.
Not a film for the faint of heart of the weak of stomach, “The Revenant” is a powerhouse revenge story. It’s fueled by rage, hatred and blood. Every grunt, every fight and every scene is a painting made exactly how it should have been. “The Revenant” could not have been made more perfectly.
