I promised myself that in 2016 I'd try to watch as many movies as I could and get out of my comfort zone. Although I'm a movie fan, I hardly used to experiment & watch things outside of my comfort area in cinemas and thought that with The Revenant around the corner, I thought it'd be a great start as being the first 2016 movie that I watch. If you live in a place where The Revenant came out in 2015, good for you, but here it released in 2016. What really persuaded me to see this film? Leonardo DiCaprio as a great actor, Tom Hardy is stellar in any movie that you does, and with Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu behind the camera, you could expect a technically brilliant film following Birdman. This year looks like a promising year for movies, so I thought the Revenant might by a good place to start with all the praise that I heard of the movie. Not as much praise as Birdman, but it looked like something I would like more than Birdman (which I liked, but didn't love past the technical aspects). Now that I've watched The Revenant, I can confidently say it's a fantastic film and was a great way to start off the year.
What you should know is that this movie isn't for everyone. I mean it in a sense that this movie really isn't for everyone. I don't mean that as in sci-fi film, or drama film etc. but this movie is made in a way that I can see it now appeasing a lot of people. Hence why it's rated lesser than Birdman. Where this movie really shines are the technical aspects. The cinematography is the best. Somehow following the technical achievements in Birdman, Alejandro managed to follow and top it off with a film that's been polished in all areas of cinematography. Be it close up shots of characters, or shots of the landscape, The Revenant is a contender for one of the best shot films of the decade, if not THE best. Although most credit belongs to Emmanuel Lubezki, who is truly a hard man to beat. Although one-shots are not as prominent as they are in Birdman, which was made to look like it was shot in a single take (good job, Emmanuel. Good job), the one shot scenes that are here are amazing and add an unprecedented layer of immersion. There isn't as much action in the film as I was hoping for, but the action that is in the film is incredibly layered, I was actually in awe at how they managed to create some of the shots.
But The Revenant would not be such a masterclass in film making if it wasn't for the talent on screen, who I think did an equal amount in bringing this film to life as much as the off-screen people did. I will stop here and praise Leonardo DiCaprio, the main character of the movie, "Hugh Glass." Leonardo DiCaprio has joined the ranks of Daniel Day Lewis as an actor that completely loses himself in the character in an attempt to turn in the best performance possible. It's been said that DiCaprio had to eat raw meats and sleep in an animal carcass in real life to bring this character to the world of The Revenant, and it certainly paid off. Leonardo is now being nominated for an Academy Award (again). I would love for the man to receive an Oscar because of how amazing he is in the film, but with The Danish Girl's Eddie Redmayne also being nominated, it makes it somewhat unlikely. But DiCaprio was able to portray so much - hunger, greed, desperation, gentleness, aggressiveness - by saying so little. Also starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio is Tom Hardy as Fitzgerald, the antagonist of the film. Tom Hardy is also being nominated for an Academy Award for his role in this film, and it's easy to see why. He draws you into every single scene. I can see him ending up in my Top 5 or so antagonists, even by the end of the year. The rest of the cast were stellar too. Domhnall Gleeson stars in his 50th successful motion picture of this year and is great in every scene he is. The actors who played Hawk, and Jim also sold their characters.
It's been said by Tom Hardy that he doesn't think Fitzgerald is really a villain. And if Hugh Glass were in Fitzgerald's position, he also would've acted similarly and made the same decisions. I agree with this in that Fitzgerald is like a fleshed out, supporting character instead of a villain who ties the woman up in a train track and twirls his mustache. Hugh Glass is also a sympathetic character. Forest Goodluck's Hawk, Glass's son, was also a pleasant character that I loved every moment with. He was a loving son that truly cares for his father and this shows in his moment to moment actions. "Captain Andrew Henry" could've been a one dimensional character, but Gleeson breathed enough life into him for us to care.
As I mentioned earlier, this movie isn't for everything. This movie is a harsh, uncompromising experience with graphic physical violence. I wasn't as taken aback by the violence as, say, the early screeners that exited the movie midway, but I'd be lying if I said there weren't a handful of moments that made me cringe. The bear attack in particular was impeccable. I won't spoil what exactly goes down in the struggle, but let's just say it was unsettling to watch unfold. All of the action sequences in this film are masterful in choreography and keep you at the edge of your seat. A lot of them pan out in ways that were unexpected. It helps that all the characters in action themselves looked amazing.
Regardless of this, The Revenant is held back from being a complete masterpiece of film making. While Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu demonstrates a strong grip on the film making craft, he somewhat let me down in the storytelling aspects: which are both it's strength and it's weakness. The Revenant is a slow paced film and you spend a bulk of the film watching scenes like Hugh Glass dragging himself through the ground and pushing his way through the forests. Watching this for an extended period of time makes the movie a brutal, harrowing experience and helps you resonate with the character, but it makes the film more accomplished than entertaining. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching a human simply struggling as a plot, but they really sacrificed fundamental great storytelling, and because of this in made the final 15 minutes or so rushed. Add to that, there was a small 7+ or so minutes of the story that seemed to be there to set up something tiny later on the film instead of being an enticing part of the movie on it's own. Another thing that bothered me was that this movie suffered from unnecessary flashback scenes. I'm not against flashback sequences, but in this movie they felt trop-y and didn't add to the characters. In short, they were mindnumbingly boring to watch, but they were few in amounts.
All in all, I thought The Revenant was a fantastic film that is by far my favorite of 2016. Even if it falters in the story department, it is still a visual masterpiece that is brilliantly acted that showed that not only are the sequence of events in a film important, but also in their execution. It certainly isn't a film for everyone - it is often slow and brutal, but for the right audience that appreciate the film making craft, you'll love it. I can see someone more imbued by the art of film making instead of writing will be totally in love with this movie, but if you're a person that watches movies mostly for the writing and story department, you might be dissapointed. It is not a perfect movie, occasionally boring, but what it accomplished, which was a LOT, far outweighed the bad.
Score: 9/10
- + Performances, especially Hardy and DiCaprio
- + Visual masterpiece w/ breath taking scenery
- + Great action sequences
- + Unprecedented, bold film making
- - Repetitive, occasionally dull plot
There you have it. What did you think of the Revenent? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Do you agree with my score? How would you rate the movie? Did this review persuade you to watch it if you haven't already? Please comment below, and follow for more reviews. Thank you for reading.
- TAS
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