The Revenant

As Leonardo DiCaprio traverses the barren American northwest in search of revenge in "The Revenant," one quote continuously percolates in his mind: "As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. You breathe... keep breathing." This is no easy task, as the film takes place in a desolate tundra teeming with bloodthirsty Indians, mercenary fur trappers, roaming wolves, and, most dangerously, as we find out, grizzly bears. There are many amazing adventure stories in the film canon, but none as profoundly intense, personal, and engrossing as "The Revenant," a feat that stems from the amazing directing of Alejandro González Iñárritu, fresh off his Oscar win for "Birdman." Iñárritu's style is very intimate and constantly weaves cameras in between people, trees, and animals in long unedited shots, which gives a feeling of actually experiencing what the characters are experiencing. He is able to show the vastness of the wilderness while also whittling it down using natural light to create a white out effect for smaller scale scenes. Most importantly, these close range shots highlight both the mental and physical suffering of the characters.

The plot is straightforward yet powerful. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, a fur trapper on a group expedition somewhere deep in the American northwest. The trapper's camp is ambushed by Indians and a few of the trappers manage to escape into the wilderness. The battle scene between the trappers and Indians is a spectacular portrayal of anarchy, terror, and face to face combat. We are not shown two people fighting from a camera angle far removed from the action. Instead, Iñárritu weaves around the combatants so you can feel every stumble, every gasp for air, and every sharp feeling of pain. As the trappers venture out, Glass stumbles upon two grizzly bear cubs and is subsequently mauled by the protective mother. Again, the bear attack is shot with monstrous intensity, as if the audience were lying on the ground with DiCaprio next to a violent maelstrom. When Glass becomes incapacitated, three men stay behind, including Glass's son, to take care of him until he recovers or dies. When the men disagree on what to do with Glass as he continues to ail, one of the men, John Fitzgerald, ends up killing Glass's son and then tries to abscond. Glass makes a heroic recovery and then seeks revenge against Fitzgerald. 

As expected, Leonardo DiCaprio gives an Oscar-worthy performance. He is an intense actor and perfectly suited for the role. Tom Hardy also gives a noteworthy performance as John Fitzgerald, who is an interesting, if not sympathetic villain. While many villains commit atrocities out of pure evil, Fitzgerald is more a jaded, rational figure who does what he needs to survive. He carries a battle scar on his head from an attempted scalping at the hands of an Indian warrior, an ordeal that undoubtedly taught him a cruel lesson. One interesting contrast between the characters of Glass and Fitzgerald is what each took away from the Native American culture that permeates their world. Fitzgerald carries a harsh savagery with him while Glass learns spirituality, family and a sense of oneness with nature.

"The Revenant" is the best movie of the year. It is an original contribution to American film and boasts bravura directing and superb acting. To be sure, the film is truly a raw experience and can be emotionally draining at times. But, most of all, "The Revenant" is a celebration of the film medium and how it can be used to externalize the emotional innards within a character.