The Revenant

Le Revenant

By Preston Sinclair

(c) Twentieth Century Fox

'God giveth. God taketh away.'

             John Fitzgerald

     I really didn't know what to expect when a friend sent me a private message on Facebook inviting me to see The Revenant. In hindsight, I'm glad that I didn't. It made the viewing experience all that much more thrilling and engaging.
    The Revenant is a cathartic film, not for the feint of heart. During the opening scene an American fur trapping party is attacked by Indian marauders who are seeking retribution for the abduction of the chief's daughter Powaqa (Melaw Nakenk'o).  I never knew that arrows could inflict so much damage to the human body. I mean, these arrows are thick and they mean business. I flinched every time one found it's mark. This film is violent and gory in ways I'd never imagined.
  

(c) Twentieth Century Fox

Glass, who is off elk hunting, returns to camp during the melee in order to save his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck).  During the battle John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) deftly plucks Glass's son from the freezing waters and certain death.  Hardy earns a well deserved Oscar nod for Best Supporting actor for his portrayal of the dastardly Fitzgerald.  Hardy's voice mutates from velvety to gravely at a moments notice.  His slow mid western drawl draws you in and compels you to believe whatever lie he is telling.  I could listen to Tom Hardy talk all day.  Anyone who has seen the movie 'Locke' knows what I'm talking about.
  The survivors of the attack clamber aboard a boat and escape down the river.  The Revenant is relentless in its depiction of one harrowing escape after another. Glass is caught hunting alone by a pissed off Momma bear protecting her cubs.  He survives the brutal attack by pretending to be dead.  In a spiritual sense, death is a character in The Revenant embodied by Glass's beloved wife, who was murdered in a previous battle. She appears throughout the film to guide him on his journey. Following the gruesome bear attack Glass is left for dead by his buddies.

(c) Twentieth Century Fox

     Leonardo DiCaprio transforms himself for this role. He may have grunted and clawed his way through every scene to that elusive Oscar. He finally gives up his pretty guy image we all know from 'The Great Gatsby' and 'The Wolf Of Wall Street'.
    The Revenant incorporates themes we've all read in any good American Literature class, man versus man, man versus nature, man versus himself. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu brilliantly weaves all of the threads together like a Navajo blanket. The scenic beauty of the wilderness is breathtaking while a certain sense of spirituality melds the film together.
     Roughly translated from French, the word revenant means one who has returned as if from the dead. While leaving the theater which was full to capacity there was complete silence, as if we were all in a funeral procession.  We all felt like zombies, drained and exhausted but glad that we were there.  What I'm saying is, you might need a drink after seeing The Revenant.

 Resource Links:

Official Twentieth Century Fox site

IMDB.com

Rotton Tomatoes