The Revenant

Dir: Alejandro González Iñárritu

2016

*****

It has been fascinating to see the development and range of Alejandro González Iñárritu's work since his first film, 2000's Amores Perros. The same could be said about The Revenant's cast. I've always seen Leonardo DiCaprio as somewhat of a man-boy but I don't think I will any longer. Tom Hardy goes from strength to strength with another devilish performance that seemed tailor made for the actor, I certainly can't think of any other actor who could have played it as well. Both deserve their various award nominations and it's nice to know that neither could care less if they win or not. Will Poulter was quite a surprising addition to the cast and he really holds his own and Domhnall Gleeson is fast becoming one of my favorite actors, having been in most of my favorite films of the last few years and being brilliant in all of them. I imagine writing a screenplay about the life of Hugh Glass must have been pretty tricky but Iñárritu and Mark L. Smith did an amazing job of it. I have faith in Iñárritu's talent but Mark L. Smith is the same man that wrote Vacancy and Vacancy 2: The First Cut, so it seems there is a surprise around every corner regarding this film. Their screenplay is based heavily on Michael Punke's 2002 novel; The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge. Hugh Glass' story has been told on screen before in 1971's Man in the Wilderness although names and situations had been changed, a remake had been stuck in development hell for nearly twenty years but Michael Punke's novel was the turning point. The novel stays faithful to the story as does the film. Hugh Glass was known to rip a yarn in his day, many didn't believe his story but he told it until the day he died. Everything that happens in the film really did happen to him except for one detail. In truth, there was no revenge. The momentum that gives Iñárritu's film its strength is somewhat of a lie. It is the sort of thing that usually bothers me in films based on real life stories but not this time. It's a yarn and a very good one at that. People have accused it of being like torture-porn but I disagree. Hardships suffered in the film were very real for the people of the time, I don't see why we should shy away from what was reality. I found everything about the film to be astonishing. It makes quite clever comment on the settlers vs. natives debate, shows what we really are like as a race and what can drive us to do impossible things. It is the ultimate story that can be told at every occasion as it features everything that is important to us as a race with that added believable unbelievability. The spirituality that comes when you are at your most desperate, when hate forces you to survive the impossible, the emptiness of everything you've ever desired....it's all here, it's all beautifully filmed and brilliantly acted. Another outstanding achievement from one of the world's greatest directors.