An epic story of attempted survival in the very very wildest of the Wild West.

Rating: Null/10 (19 January 2016)

An exciting trailer made 'The Revenant' a must-see film. The title required a search to understand it's meaning. Neither is required though before seeing this film. In fact viewers are best advised to avoid both. The trailer does in fact show too much, thus diminishing the level of suspense.
The film opens with the familiar icon and music of 20th Century Fox. The film itself is a Western, who's opening scenes shows a very wet and heavily-forested landscape that seems primeval and virtually unpopulated. White trappers are attacked by American Natives (formerly known as Red Indians, though that is geographically incorrect), and in attempting to escape, take a decision, that has momentous consequences. There follows a struggle to survive in the harsh and grim environment, which centres on one of the trappers.
The star of the film is Leonardo DiCaprio who plays the role of Hugh Glass. He is not just a trapper, but also appears to be a guide and hunter too. He is accompanied by his son, Hawk, played by Native American Forrest Goodluck, in a good debut performance. The son of white man Glass and a Red Indian mother, his character is thus a half- caste, and as such, viewed as alien by others. This harsh racist view of 'the savage' is shown well throughout the film, but American Natives themselves play several important roles within the film itself. One in particular, plays a role that will be easily recognized by those familiar with classic Westerns.
Some clever use of dreams and memories give some back-story, but not enough. Interjected, like scenes from the Sopranos, they are surreal and thus take you out of the picture somewhat. More sadly, they never give the back-story as to the circumstances of Hugh Glass meeting an Indian woman and them then having a child. Trapper Glass has a story of wanting to escape civilization and enjoy the silence of the wilderness. Sadly we do not experience it, because the other flaw in the film is the constant insertion of background music. Some, seems to fit in with the time-period appropriately, but there is far too much of lots of other music. More silence, as people trudged through the snow or trees split in the cold, and thus those sounds being caught, would have been better.
However, these two drawbacks, should not detract from what is a masterful piece of film-making by Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. From the earliest scenes we have innovative camera shots that pull us into the movie. The camera is used to present some great POV for us in some early fighting scenes, that really give us the effect of being there during the fight. This also continues in later parts of the film. Likewise, we can have the camera turning to show a character isolated in the wilderness, though never blurring as happens in so many other films, nor making us giddy either. There are also some very long tracking scenes, as well as some innovative filming from ground-level too. All-in-all, Director Alejandro Inarritu gives us a master-class in filming.
It should be said that the cast and crew of the movie were filming in very inhospitable locations for months. Conditions must have been very harsh, and all concerned should be very proud of the commitment and dedication required to do this. Leonardo DiCaprio, in particular should be applauded. He is in virtually every scene, thus his workload, and suffering, must have been more than that of the other thespians.
Playing opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, after he persuaded him to read the screenplay, is British actor Tom Hardy. Fresh from showing his acting talents playing both of the Kray Twins in 'Legend' (2015), here in 'The Revenant', he plays a rough tough experienced trapper. His 2012 outing as a hillbilly moonshiner in 'Lawless' showed his ability to authentically convince as an American, which he does again here in this film.
Captain Henry, the nominal leader of the trappers, is played by Domhnall Gleeson. His accent was good and he convinced in his role. In 2015 he had another serious role in 'Ex Machina', much different from his role in the rom-com 'About Time' made in 2013. British actor Will Poulter also did a comedy in 2013, 'We're the Millers', here in 'The Revenant' he too plays his part with distinction. A supporting-part that is a spot bigger and meatier than Domhnall Gleeson's, though both are good.
There is a clear intent to portray Native Americans authentically as well as sympathetically, thus we have use of subtitles for Pawnee as well as French, although the majority of the film is in English.
We are perhaps now seeing a revival of the 'Western' genre, after a long gap. 2014 saw a good and also gritty cowboy film called 'The Salvation'. 'The Revenant' is interesting because it shows an era, the era of the fur-trapper, that is an earlier era, and one that is rarely dealt with in the Western genre.
'The Revenant' has to be considered one of the finest pieces of film- making yet, both for cast and crew. The dedication required for filming in the harsh conditions, as well as the resultant piece of work, make it unrivaled. 8/10.