The Revenant

The Revenant, the latest film from accomplished director and writer Alejandro G. Inarritu is a breathtaking exhibit of talent and technology. The talent is obvious because the performances were beyond reproach and the technology is clearly visible even if you never noticed the intricacies of  camera work and lighting before. The Revenant is unlike anything I have ever seen before and because of that I give this amazing movie five buckets of Killer Korn.












Revenant - noun: A person who has returned, especially supposedly from the dead.


The Revenant is as brutal a film as it is beautiful. Alejandro has shown us a world where everything is either life altering or life threatening. Starring two of the best actors today in Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, The Revenant is a story about loss, revenge, and redemption. It's told in a way that will leave you speechless afterwards as you try to process what it was you just witnessed. Now January has routinely been the month where studios dump there bad movies which still holds true in many respects, The Revenant however is the magnificent exception to that rule this year. I did not see Alejandro's acclaimed Birdman with Michael Keaton because I was not a fan of his previous work. I did not like his 21 Grams and I was frustrated by Babel. So my enthusiasm for The Revenant was tempered but I'm glad I saw it. It was extremely impressive work.

This may be the year people can stop wringing their hands about whether or not Leonardo will get his Oscar. If his performance in this movie doesn't win him the golden statue then nothing will because this is the best work he's ever done. As I stated earlier this movie is brutal and I can't imagine what the shoot was like nor do I want to. Some actors complained about Michael Mann's quest for authenticity in his Last of The Mohican's masterpiece so if no one threatened to walk off set during the making of this movie or was willing to incite mutiny, I would be shocked. The Revenant just looked like a logistical nightmare. Alejandro used natural lighting so that means waiting around until the light was right and the sun was in the right spot in the sky to continue shooting. There was body surfing in what had to be frigid waters along with scaling snow covered mountainous peaks. There was a bear attack that Leo's character Hugh Glass endures and it's relentlessly ferocious. That being said this film is an emotional binding one. The love Hugh has for his son Hawk, played by newcomer Forrest Goodluck is apparent from the start and it's his death along with the death of Hawk's mother that fuels Hugh's fight to live to exact his revenge.

The Revenant was immersive and intimate as it was vast. The vistas were beautiful to look at and served the purpose of showing just how alone Glass was on his journey back to "civilization". Alejandro did an excellent job of showing just who the savages were in this new frontier without stating the obvious and then pitting Glass up against the representation of that savagery. The movie was a marvel to behold and that was thanks to Oscar award winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. The filming techniques employed truly put you squarely in the middle of the action and made you part of Glass' journey. I think Emmanuel may have to make room for another award very soon. The score by Alva Noto, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Bryce Dessner was pitch perfect. It filled you with a sense of longing while adding to the isolation of Glass. The three artists involved in crafting the score appeared to have worked seamlessly together to deliver an aural landscape that fit Alejandro's visual one to the letter, it was an exceptional fit. If you are a movie lover then I highly recommend The Revenant because it's unlike anything you've ever seen before and will probably ever see again and I'll see you at the theater.