[yasr_overall_rating]
In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.
“The Revenant” is a cold movie in a literal sense as well as a symbolic. It follows a story of Hugh Glass, a man that is seeking vengeance when his hunting party leaves him for dead after he is brutally mauled by a bear. The cold setting of the younger years of Missouri seems to envelop the characters, hardening them as well as your own emotions, preparing you for all of its cringe-worthy scenes that litter the film inside of the subzero landscape. The elements are not the only faucet in which this movie pours out and demonstrates its power, the acting is pretty good too. Dicaprio has been clawing for an Oscar during his career as an actor and though this statement may seem overused or empty, this film seems to be the one that will push him into the winner’s circle as he plays legendary explorer, Hugh Glass. The movie lies in the heart of a violence-fueled hell but that was common in the 1820’s; life was tough, brutal, and short. “Graphic” doesn’t come close to being the trigger warning that could describe this movie.
Leonardo stays silent in most of the 156 minutes because his neck was ripped open in the beginning of the film due to an animal attack that leaves him almost voiceless. Spittle covers Dicaprio’s lips throughout the movie as he uses non verbal cues in order to convey his messages to the viewers including almost primal grunts or screams, a convulsing body, and emotion that perfectly describes his characters feelings without using words. It is like a perfect game of charades where your partner knows exactly what you mean every single time. Leonardo is the star but Tom Hardy steals the show in some aspects. He enters the movie as John Fitzgerald, an ill-mannered war veteran who has a dislike for the native people as well as those who breathe within a five mile radius of his angry being. He, uncontested by anyone else, matches the weather. Hardy is cold, unforgiving and selfish. He is a murderous antagonist that can only be related to an avalanche, crushing anything that gets in his way until the very end. The only thing that was disappointing was his use of the same vocal style that he employed in “Lawless,” he even answers his own rhetorical questions with a southern drawled “yeah,” just like he did in that movie. It was great to hear but it gave the impression that he only had that one accent in his skill set.
However, the one actor that surprised me above all others, was Will Poulter. Watching sub-par movies such as “The Maze Runner” and the “Narnia” series gave the impression that he wouldn’t be a solid character with a large part in the film but I was completely and utterly wrong. He provided a morality that was absent from all the other characters. Maybe it was due to him being young or his backstory may have provided that he was new to the setting and lifestyle but he was the emotional beacon that was absent from the cold characters that filled the movie’s roster. Paired with Hardy for almost the whole film, Poulter plays Jim Bridger to a tee. Poulter wasn’t a small time support; he was a stand alone force that not only provided the symbolic vessel for selflessness but helped reinforce the idea that you would love to hate Hardy.
Though the movie is long, it is worth every minute. “The Revenant” captures the essence of the human spirit and really makes you question morality. What would you do to survive? How would you right a wrong done to you? Go catch it in theaters and find out.
In theaters January 8th
