4 STARS
The Revenant is an epic tale of a man’s quest for revenge, whilst he battles the elements and struggles to survive in the vast wilderness of the American West. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the protagonist Hugo Glass, and Tom Hardy as his adversary, John Fitzgerald, The Revenant is as engaging as it is beautiful, and it is clear the Birdman director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has triumphed once again.
The plot is loosely based on true events, although they have been heavily adapted for the screen and admittedly some of the tribulations that DiCaprio’s character manages to overcome are far-fetched. Nonetheless, if you are prepared to suspend your disbelief, you begin to root for his character who just won’t stop fighting back.
DiCaprio’s performance is, as always, immaculate however I was not as moved by this performance in comparison to those in other films, such as Inception or Shutter Island. The strong bond between DiCaprio’s character and his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) is eloquently portrayed by both actors however, and the scenes between the two are some of the most poignant in the film. Hardy’s American accent is a little shaky but luckily not so weak to be a distraction, and Will Poulter’s young frontiersman, Bridger, is vulnerable and somewhat endearing.
Throughout the film there are incredible natural shots of rivers, waterfalls, mountains, snowy plains and many other stunning landscapes, however with the running time of the film amounting to two and a half hours, I feel that some of these could have been cut, along with some of DiCaprio’s many scenes grunting and frothing at the mouth. The same effect would have been achieved and my attention would have been retained for longer.
One thing that really disappointed me – spoiler ahead- was that during the final confrontation between DiCaprio and Hardy’s characters, the insult that causes DiCaprio to finally lose his cool and go for Hardy is that his son is a ‘girly little bitch’. Sigh. He launches himself at Hardy because God-forbid his son be as weak as a girl, despite the fact that we are shown the resilience of the Native American women, who are raped, have their homes raided and burnt, and their families killed. Whether or not this insult reflects a belief contemporary to the time when the film was set, I’m sure the writer could have thought of number of adjectives that would have conveyed weakness, that don’t perpetuate an outdated stereotype.
Overall this was a great watch, although don’t expect to leave the cinema feeling uplifted. You will be in awe- and maybe even inspired, but you might need to watch something cheerful before you go to bed. The final question playing on all of our minds however, is whether or not Leo will finally get that Oscar. He did eat raw bison meat…
Sources:
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/401946335470848631/