Movie Review: "The Revenant"

"The Revenant": B.  I once heard a humorous comment from a long distance runner.  "Sure, I admire the Kenyans and Ethiopians, but could they run a marathon if it took them the five hours it takes me?"  I was reminded of that quote when I read about Leonardo DiCaprio choosing voluntarily to suffer in the extreme cold while filming The Revenant in order to make his portrayal of frontier scout Hugh Glass more authentic.  The question that comes to mind is this: Wouldn't it be more impressive acting if DiCaprio really wasn't all that cold but looked and acted cold? 

The Revenant leads all contending film entries with twelve nominations in various categories for this year's Academy Awards.  The double icing on the cake is that the movie itself is deemed by the press to be the likely winner among the eight films nominated for Best Picture, and DiCaprio is the front runner in the race for Best Actor.  He has been shut out in his four previous acting nominations.  The film is worthy of just about every positive adjective one could find; "sprawling" would be my first choice.  The movie is beautifully photographed by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, who shot mainly in British Columbia, Alberta, Montana and Argentina.  The perfectly chosen locations include scenes of snow covered mountains, white water rivers, the sun shining through trees defrocked by winter, and campfire timbers floating through the night sky.  Several panoramic and aerial shots capture the majesty and magnitude of the mountains, especially when compared to a lonely frontiersman making his way on foot or by horseback across the snow-blanketed valley.

The underlying plot is one we've seen time and again, particularly in westerns.  A man is left for dead, deserted by his compadres whose own well being is foremost in their decision making.  Somehow the deserted man survives, and thereupon is driven to get his revenge on the culprits.  The Revenant dresses up this familiar story arc by adding many remarkable episodes to put meat on the bone.

The scene most talked about is the attack by a ferocious momma bear on Glass, who has been hired to guide an unsavory group of pelt hunters.  Their prey consists of fox, beaver, raccoon, buffalo and any other furry four-legged creatures they can shoot. The rugged scout is armed with a rifle and a hunting knife, but those prove quite inadequate against the mammoth creature.  Most of the men in his group, including John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), prefer to leave the badly mangled, unconscious Glass in the snow, but at the insistence of their leader, Captain Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson), they drape him on a wooden plank attached to a horse and take him with.  Captain Henry realizes Glass, a half-breed with irreplaceable knowledge of the unforgiving land and its indigenous inhabitants, is invaluable to the troop out in the wilderness.  They are dozens of miles from their post on the other side of the almost impassable mountains.  Furthermore, as we learn in the first few minutes of the movie, these men are not only hunters but the hunted -- by Indians -- as well.  Captain Henry's decision to try to save Glass is based more on necessity for his men's survival than human kindness.

When it becomes apparent that dragging the near-dead Glass up a steep icy mountain is doomed to fail, Captain Henry offers extra money to Fitgerald and another younger hunter, Jim Bridger (Will Poulter), to stay with Glass while the rest of the party proceeds.  Also staying behind is Glass' son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), still a teenager.  Henry's instructions to Fitzgerald are to wait for the impending passing of Glass, and to bury the body honorably before proceeding with the two youngsters to catch up with their party.  After Henry and the other men leave, not only does Fitzgerald disobey orders, but he does so in a most reprehensible manner in full view of the disabled Glass.

Glass, his body having been shredded by the bear, is nearly frozen and can barely walk.  Gasping for every breath he eventually drags himself out of the shallow grave.  The chase is on.  Think "the hare and the tortoise."

Glass' quest for revenge is grueling.  Little by little he regains his strength and mobility, but not before memorable encounters with a Pawnee, a pinto, and a disgraceful band of French trappers and fur traders.  In this movie, unlike cowboys and Indian flicks of yesteryear, the whites are the bad guys.  Hardy as Fitzgerald makes a great villain; rugged, smart, unpredictable, and intimidating in a way that DiCaprio is not.  Hardy is also up for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category.

One could argue that Mexican director Alejandro Inarritu, who won the Best Director Oscar last year for Birdman (reviewed here January 17, 2015; B) does not waste a single scene or include an extraneous speaking part in The Revenant.  I found the saga too long at one hundred fifty-six minutes, and as noted above, the basic plot itself is not original.  Perhaps my biggest beef is the second-to-last scene, which is illogical and gratuitous.  The theme of the story is "leave revenge for God to handle," but revenge is ultimately rendered by a disinterested party.