If there’s one thing a movie like 2015’s The Revenant always does for me, is it reminds me I would be completely useless at any moment in history prior to…let’s say the middle of the 20th century. I am barely a functioning human being as it is, even with all the technological advances we have available to us. All the action in this picture takes place in the western United States of the early 1800’s, which is far from settled. I don’t think I would have lived to even see puberty. And I know this is entirely from the perspective of somebody born long after that era, but I don’t even think I’d want to live.
Leonardo DiCaprio is the front-and-center star here. In flashbacks over the course of the film, we learn he had married a Pawnee woman (Grace Dove) and they had a son together (Forrest Goodluck). After she was shot by a soldier, DiCaprio killed that man. When the movie starts in the present, he and his son are assisting an American fur trapping expedition captained by Domhnall Gleeson.
We are scant minutes into the film before Native Americans slaughter most of the trapping party. This scene is very exciting, but felt a hair too artificial, even with the substantial amount of violence and gore. I suspect I feel this way because the majority of it appears to be one long, unbroken shot, one of those techniques that filmmakers were all striving for around the time this was made. I didn’t go back and re-watch the scene to see if that’s the case, but that was my impression at the time.
At least, I was aware of a rather jarring cut once the boat the survivors are on is safely down the river a bit. DiCaprio, as the operation’s scout, says they need to abandon the boat and proceed on land. This immediately raises the hackles of Tom Hardy, a trapper so tough he is missing half of his hair following an attempted scalping. Domhnall trusts DiCaprio and so the boat is abandoned.
Regarding the massive scar on Hardy’s scalp, I thought it was interesting how the movie approaches the subject of relations with Native American tribes at the time, and that is with complete objectivity. There is a lot of offensive language here regarding the indigenous people, but I don’t think it would have been honest if at least a couple of characters did not talk this way.
This is a long movie, and one which doesn’t adhere to the standard three-act structure. The best way I can describe it is we loosely follow different groups of characters through what appears to be very broad expanses of wilderness. We mostly follow the increasingly fragmented group of surviving fur trappers. Following them is Arikara chief Duane Howard and others from his tribe as he tries to rescue his daughter (Melaw Nakehk’o), who had been abducted by two white men. What Howard doesn’t realize at first is the group of French soldiers he’s been trading with are the ones who took her.
The American fur traders separate when DiCaprio is confined to a stretcher following a bear attack. Since carrying the stretcher is holding back the entire group from getting to safety, Domhnall offers a reward for those willing to stay behind with DiCaprio and tend his wounds until the man recovers well enough to travel on foot. If their ministrations should not prevent his death, DiCaprio is to be given a proper Christian burial.
Those two volunteers are Hardy and Will Poulter, with Goodluck naturally staying by his father’s side. As I established earlier, Hardy was already a sign of trouble and he proves to be a menace here. One of the standout scenes in the picture is when, alone with the mute DiCaprio, he tells the injured man he will bring him a quick and merciful death if only he will blink to confirm this is what he wants. Never before has the screen been graced with a blinking contest where the stakes are this high. Maybe they should have centered the ad campaign around this moment: “Intense blinking action!”
DiCaprio isn’t killed, but he is buried alive. This is after he sees Hardy kill his son. Poulter had not been there when all of this happened. Hardy convinces him Goodluck ran off. Also, he says there are several Arikara nearby, and they need to flee immediately. Poulter helps Hardy dump DiCaprio in the grave Hardy had already dug, which would seem to make that man’s sudden hurry very suspect. Still, they throw some dirt on the guy and off they go.
Miraculously, this guy who had been confined to a stretcher up until now manages to pull himself out of the grave, the end of a broken leg dragging freely behind him. He finds the body of his son, and I’m guessing this is part of what gives him the strength to track down Hardy. Never underestimate the motivational power of revenge.
If there is one major shortcoming of the film, it is the use of CGI animals. Any viewer would know that isn’t a real bear attacking DiCaprio, but that’s largely because the long, static shots mean this has to be something other than the genuine article. Films made before this technology would have largely used somebody in a bear costume, and have a bunch of quick cuts of extreme close-ups to aid in this ruse. So, the locked-down shot here subliminally tells us the bear can’t be real. Also, the CGI used for it is far from perfect. Alas, other animals suffer from the same subpar graphical realization.
The Revenant is a long, taxing experience but still one I recommend for the curious. I wouldn’t describe it as entertainment, though it does keep the viewer engaged through its significant runtime. And you may even learn some new skills you’ll hope will never have to use, such as cauterizing your own wounds. As for myself, I am content with being able to barely function in the early 21st century, even with all of its conveniences that are available to me.
Dir: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter
Watched on blu-ray