A fur-trading group’s expedition is shaken by the natives who go on a sneak-attack on them. The group’s only hope is Hugh Glass, a member, who has spent years in the forests and fathers one of the native breed, much to the wrath of another member Fitz. Upon charting out an escape plan, a bear attack renders him immobile. Fritz volunteers to stay back only to ensure he sees Hugh die. When Fritz leaves him ascertaining the surety of his death, Hugh’s human instincts soars as he tries to survive to exact revenge!
Language:
English
Running Time:
156 min
Rating:
A
Release date:
26 February 2016
Directed by:
Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Produced by:
Arnon Milchan
Steve Golin
Mary Parent
Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Keith Redmon
James W. Skotchdopole
Written by:
Mark L. Smith
Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Based on:
The Revenant by
Michael Punke
Starring:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Tom Hardy
Domhnall Gleeson
Will Poulter
Forrest Goodluck
Paul Anderson
Isaiah Tootoosis
Arthur Redcloud
Music by:
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Alva Noto
Shot by:
Emmanuel Lubezki
Editing by:
Stephen Mirrione
Distributed by:
20th Century Fox

What’s Hot

  • This chillingly inspiring tale on human survival (in turn based partly on Michael Punke’s novel by the same name) seems to have been written by Alejandro González Iñárritu for the purpose of showing the limits human mind and body can reach. In doing that, he has displayed the limits a film’s crew can reach to make such a tumultuous shooting experience transcend into a visceral viewing experience.
  • Who better than Leonardo DiCaprio to play the role of Hugh Glass, the man possessing unbreakable will to fight! What hasn’t given him an Oscar has only made him a beast of a performer. Here, he takes method acting to a whole new level experiencing sufferings that we see for real and taking the term ‘getting into the skin of the character’ quite literally (Well, he is shown to get into the skin of a dead horse, to weather the cold storm!).
  • Tom Hardy, who plays the eccentric John Fitzgerald, is the surprise package. He lifts his role to match the magnitude of impact the protagonist carries and threatens us with his villainous ways and in the discourse of his scary ideologies.
  • Emmanuel Lubezki’s camerawork is out-of-the-world stuff that makes you wonder if some of the scenes capturing wilderness were actually shot out of the world! The panoramic shots, the night shot where the crew, to its utter disbelief, meets Hugh, the close candid-like shots of the bear attack make you go wide mouth and the Ryuichi Sakamoto’s eerie music that suits the theme completes the experience as you are made to go aghast!
  • The very first scene is an Iñárritu special – starting with the gentle gush of water, meandering on through levels of unrest and ending up gory with bullets and arrows having a go at each other – as he brings his vision to the screen through a perfect marriage of camera-work, special effects, Mirrione’s editing (a tough job, that must have been) & the sound mixing which captures the finest of details.
  • The subtle message of exploitation of resources & taking natives of the land for granted are not missed either, brought smartly into focus through a little side-story involving a French group.

What’s Not

  • The film, given its leaning to the spaghetti western pattern of filming, doesn’t have a climax that packs the sort of punch westerns are known for, in spite of there being enough scope for that. With two powerfully placed characters confronting each other, a better climax would have enriched the impact
  • Hallucination, as a way of expressing the power of a relationship, has now become common place in films and repetitions of that technique reiterating a point already made don’t add much value.

Badges

Acting
Cinematography
Direction
Music

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

The Revenant, as it goes about its intent to stay as a moving tribute to human will & to those who have hit nadirs in their fights for survival, sits comfortably in its own niche space for the kind of emotional and viewing experience it provides with its technical excellence and the masterful show that DiCaprio puts together through his stunning dedication to the method!