Such An Agonizing, Flawed Yet Beautiful Movie

Rating: 7/10 (24 June 2016)

Well, I had FINALLY seen the film. My folks and I had seen it a few days ago and it was great!!! I enjoyed it! I was really impressed and blown away by it to where I'm still trying to process it. The acting was phenomenal(in a perfect world, Leo and Tom BOTH won their well-deserved Oscars), the direction was great, the story was okay, the flow was good, the cinematography was hypnotizing, the visuals were amazing, the music was beautiful, and it was very thought-provoking. It was slow at times and dragged on a bit. But it was still interesting enough to keep you hooked. It was like being transported to another world.
This film was loosely based off of the ordeal and journey of Hugh Glass, and did an incredible job bringing to life a story of an almost hard-to-believe event from history. It's unbelievable to think about all of the stuff that the real Hugh Glass went through! I've read some of what really happened to the historical figure and...wow! The human spirit is something else! Like 'Man in the Wilderness', this film shows that you should never give in and never give up hope. Don't let setbacks keep you down. This film and its 1971 ancestor has shown that even in the midst of misery, we can survive difficult situations when we put our minds and hearts to it. This film was extremely bleak and disheartening. It was raw, intense, disturbing, and extremely brutal! But it still had signs of hope and beauty that makes it worthwhile.
There are many things I love about this film. Too many to name. Here are some. I love the symbolic, spiritual, and philosophical aspect of it. I love it when he speaks Pawnee. He sounds both natural and rather awkward. I love the way nature was presented as a character of its own. I love how he interacts with other characters, especially Hawk and Hikuc. I even love how Glass' body movements are basically animal-like sometimes. In one scene for example, he appeared to be moving on the ground like a predatory animal(i.e. wolf, lion, panther) towards his "prey" but in a more quiet, stealth manner. It's like when he needs or wants to be, he comes across as beastly and dangerous. I think it's rather cool and badass.
I admittedly have some issues with this film. The first issue is, like a lot of people are saying, that they should've addressed the hypothermia and pneumonia situation. He was in the winter weather most of the time and been in freezing water. His clothes being constantly wet and cold due to the snow mostly won't do him any favors. I mean, realistically, there's no way he couldn't have caught pneumonia at some point and not get seriously ill. Especially with the horrific, somewhat treated injuries he'd sustained from the bear attack that can cause serious infections. The filmmakers could've at least showed a scene or two of him trying to dry out his clothes as he's trying to keep warm. And trying not to get submersed in the freezing water too much. That's just unbelievable. The second issue I have is the wife subplot. I wasn't feeling that part of the story. It felt so superfluous, hollow, forced, and disconnected with much of the film. I wish they could've allowed us to truly get to know his wife besides seeing her briefly in flashbacks or as an illusion or symbol. Instead of a randomly fleeting memory, illusion, or symbol, the filmmakers should've established her more as a person so we can get to know her better and fully understand Glass' emotionally traumatic pain. Unfortunately, that situation wasn't executed well and probably should've been left on the cutting room floor. Oddly enough, though, I was on board with the son subplot and thought the portrayal of father/son relationship was beautiful. I wish they could've had more scenes between Glass and his son, Hawk. The third issue is, once again, like a lot of people are saying, is Glass and Captain Henry going after Fitzgerald by themselves instead of having several men with them. How ridiculously stupid is that! Even if it's just two against one, that one could most likely put up a fight with the right resources and tools. Especially knowing how dangerous, unpredictable, and shrewd he is. Perhaps this was to show how the naivety, bad judgment, and terrible decisions can have deadly consequences. Especially by a respected captain. Still, it could've been handled better by the writers. Along with that, I would've loved for the filmmakers to let us know how much time has passed since the bear attack. It felt like it was days but logically, it could've been weeks. Also, not really an issue but I wish there were more scenes with Glass and his friend that saved his life. They had an amazing chemistry and it had a sense of warmth when it comes to the heart. Lastly, though I agree that there were some parts that could've been trimmed down, I wouldn't have mind at all if the film was longer.
Despite several flaws and inaccuracies, the film was very well done and extremely beautiful. It was like an imperfect, gorgeous canvas.
7.8/10