{"id":19077,"date":"2016-01-14T21:49:07","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T11:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=19077"},"modified":"2016-01-14T21:49:07","modified_gmt":"2016-01-14T11:49:07","slug":"the-revenant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=19077","title":{"rendered":"The Revenant"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"revenantposter\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This review contains spoilers.<\/em><\/p>\n

Director: \u00a0<\/strong>Alejandro Inarritu
\nWriter: \u00a0<\/strong>Alejandro Inarritu, Mark Smith
\nCast: \u00a0<\/strong>Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter<\/p>\n

The Revenant<\/em> is an ordeal.\u00a0 A brutal, eye-watering meat grinder that relentlessly punishes its protagonist Hugh Glass, leaving him perpetually on the precipice of death.<\/p>\n

It is exhausting to watch and there are moments of extreme violence and ferocity that are seared into my mind, such is the confronting physicality of these scenes \u2013 most notably a prolonged bear attack that leaves little to the imagination.<\/p>\n

This is a film that will make you squirm and wince in your seat and yet it never felt senseless or gratuitous.\u00a0 There is a craftsmanship to The Revenant<\/em> that feels measured and purposeful, despite the barbarous nature of the content.\u00a0 Perhaps too, in the back of our minds, is the title credit that advises us that the film is based on true events.\u00a0 This actually happened to someone<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Set in the early 1800s in Montana, The Revenant<\/em> begins with an ambush on a party of trappers\u00a0 hunting for animal pelts.\u00a0 The raid is lead by a Native American tribe who swiftly take out the majority of the hunting party.\u00a0 We learn that their leader is on the search for his daughter who has been kidnapped.\u00a0 A handful of survivors escape by boat including Captain Henry, Hugh Glass, his half-Native American son Hawk and a scheming opportunist named Fitzgerald.<\/p>\n

Against the wishes of Fitzgerald, Glass advises the Captain to forego their boat and travel inland through the forest to escape the Native Americans who are hot on their trail.\u00a0 One morning when Glass scouts ahead of the party, he is attacked by a bear.\u00a0 He miraculously survives but his body is shredded to within an inch of his life.\u00a0 Captain Henry nobly refuses to abandon Glass and instructs the survivors to carry him back to their fort.\u00a0 When the terrain proves too inhospitable to navigate with Glass on a guernsey, Henry offers a bounty for anyone who can attempt to deliver his safe return while the rest of the party pushes on.\u00a0 Fitzgerald senses easy money and volunteers to stay behind with Hawk and a youngster named Bridger.<\/p>\n

\"therevenant\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At his earliest opportunity, Fitzgerald attempts to suffocate Glass but is stopped by Hawk.\u00a0 Fitzgerald murders Hawk in front of his father and then tricks Bridger into abandoning Glass, by telling him a party of Native Americans are descending on their location.\u00a0 Glass is left in a shallow grave.\u00a0 He should die but he doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 He becomes driven by a singular purpose \u2013 to find Fitzgerald and avenge the murder of his son Hawk.<\/p>\n

Glass\u2019 journey is fraught with peril at every turn.\u00a0 In nearly every instance, we\u2019re reminded of the hostile world that he inhabits.\u00a0 The Montana wilderness is unforgiving with its rocky landscape and sub-Artic conditions.\u00a0 It is inhabited by men of different stripes and backgrounds\u00a0 who are all quick to kill and driven by their own desperation and basest instincts.<\/p>\n

In this climate, there are individuals in The Revenant <\/em>who stand out with their acts of kindness.\u00a0 More often than not, these moments of mercy or compassion lead directly to their demise.<\/p>\n

The Revenant<\/em> is a formidable journey, a 156 minute tribulation that has passages of incredible tension and bloodshed, buffered by scenes of serenity and improbable beauty.\u00a0 Award winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezski (Gravity, Birdman<\/em>) immerses us in the most brutal moments of the film by employing the use of close ups and long takes, and then allows the audience to draw their breath with some elegantly framed glimpses of the natural environment.\u00a0 This is a film that has one of the most bloody and violent animal attacks I can ever recall seeing on film but it also has a peaceful interlude in which two men enjoy catching snowflakes on their tongue.\u00a0 Lubezski has covered himself in glory in recent years with back to back Oscars and he has surely done his chances of winning a third consecutive Academy Award no harm with his work on The Revenant<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I am writing this on the eve of the Academy Award nomination announcements and word is that this is the film that will deliver Leonardo Di Caprio his long overdue Oscar.\u00a0 Time will tell but if that does eventuate I think it is only fitting that he win it with one of his finest performances to date instead of with a belated \u2018we should have given this to you sooner\u2019 award.\u00a0 Tom Hardy, near unrecognizable as the sleazy Fitzgerald, also deserves plaudits for his performance.\u00a0 He is scummy, ruthless and eminently hateable.<\/p>\n

In critiquing Alejandro Inarritu\u2019s other films over the years, I\u2019ve spoken of how I\u2019ve had mixed feelings about his work.\u00a0 I enjoyed his debut feature Amores Perros<\/em> but often wondered with his subsequent films if they were too nihilistic and cruel for my tastes.\u00a0 Inarritu won me back with last year\u2019s offbeat Birdman<\/em> and I think The Revenant<\/em> is now his best film to date.\u00a0 He has obviously struck gold in his partnership with Lubezski.\u00a0 Long may that union continue.<\/p>\n

One thing that\u2019s clear to me is that the best is yet to come from Inarritu.\u00a0 Far from resting on his laurels, his films seem ever-changing in tone, content and style.\u00a0 The Revenant<\/em> is gruesome, thrilling and spectacular film making.<\/p>\n

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