An Excellent Film

Rating: 9/10 (6 January 2016)

With its portrayal of life spend in nature, the shifts between intense action and often tedious but necessary patient waiting and work, "The Revenant" was rumored to be an unforgettable film centered on Leonard DiCaprio's performance and it delivered. "The Revenant" is directed by Mexico-born Alejandro González Iñárritu, an award-winning writer, director and producer born, an artist known for works highlighting the complexity of human motivations and needs. Self-described as music more often influencing for his work than other films, one easily discerned this in his latest offering for it was like watching a movie equivalent of a symphony: slow movements, a rising crescendo, and at last a finalé and resolution.
There have been survival dramas in the past, and the closest equivalent I can think of is "Jeremiah Johnson" (1972), whose titular character was played by Robert Redford. A similar theme of vengeance against those who wronged and murdered his adopted native family is central, as well as the poignant ending. DiCaprio's character Hugh Glass was left to die after a bear attack, though mostly because his former comrades rationalize this eventuality is best to save themselves from threatening natives. Thomas Hardy's character, John Fitzgerald, is most outspoken to abandon Glass along with a half native son, whose people and all natives John deeply hates. However, he volunteers to stay behind to witness Glass' passing, but as soon as the others leave his rancor is made evident to both Glass and his son.
Unlike most movies in the past, whether it was entirely absent or confusingly presented, "The Revenant" includes a European character who identifies with or lived in the "native" world, and Glass' visions of his deceased native wife strengthens his resolve to find his murderous betrayer despite life-threatening injuries. That special connection keeps him going, but it also keeps him from losing himself in mindless hatred and ultimately useless revenge. This quest is the central theme, and his journey through beautiful but treacherous for the unwise and unskilled landscapes provide some of the most "catch your breath" scenes in recent film.
I felt the material, pacing and progression was seamless for the type of story although some critics and viewers have remarked negatively, confused and distracted by Glass' "flashbacks" or "mystic reveries" of the past. Without need for dialogue or description, key details and events showcase the ugly truths of European invasion and colonization of North America and the brutalization of its peoples whose negative after-effects continue to this very day.
Although DiCaprio is far and away the central star with a powerful performance in which viewers can immerse themselves, Hardy's supporting performance is so strong you utterly believe him as the despicable coward and cold-blooded killer John Fitzgerald. Domhnall Gleeson is also entirely believable as young Captain Henry, the pragmatic leader of the original fur gathering expedition, who later tries to bring Fitzgerald to justice.
The title, "The Revenant" is apt, suggestively setting the mood and demonstrating the story by description: "a person who returns, especially and supposedly from the dead" yet that doesn't describe just DiCaprio's character alone. What seems a simple, direct story based on true events has been given multi-layers of meaning for those willing to look beyond the surface or pay open-minded attention throughout its near three hour runtime. 9/10