This film from director Alejandro González Iñárritu (of last year’s Academy Award-winning Birdman) is not for the faint of heart. It tells the embellished true-life tale of Hugh Glass, an early 19th-century fur trader who is left for dead after a brutal bear attack in the snowy wilderness. While he’s immobile, one of his companions (Tom Hardy), murders his son in front of his eyes and essentially buries him alive. Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), drags his way out of the grave and slowly, tortuously crawls his way to vengeance.
Although brutal and at times hard to watch, the film’s beauty makes it impossible to turn away. Set in the then-remote Dakota Territory, The Revenant is more breathtaking than any other film I’ve seen, the eerie score emphasizing nature’s creaks, gurgles and whispers to make you feel as if you’re really there. Much praise has already been given to DiCaprio, who totally commits to the role’s harrowing physical demands. It is deserved: he conveys Glass’ interior journey almost entirely without dialogue, working only with facial expressions and labored grunts and wheezes.
One small complaint: the film’s length of 156 minutes, which feels a little self-indulgent at times. It is, however, worth sitting through to witness this cinematic feat.
Should You See It? Yes! It’s a spectacle best seen on the big screen. —S.Z.
Viewed at Wehrenberg Des Peres 14 Cine
