The Revenant

[auntiehill]

Saw this today with hubby and his friends. I knew very little about it, other than what I'd seen of the commercials.

I really enjoyed this film, if one can use the term "enjoyed" for such an incredibly sad and brutal tale. The way that the power, beauty and horror of nature itself becomes a character in the story seems to elevate this above the more simplistic survival or revenge movies. The cinematography is absolutely stunning.

If I can fault anything in the film, I would say that the emotional connection between the father and son gets a bit lost--perhaps "told" rather than showed--and the inner life of the main character (beyond his grief) isn't necessarily present as we watch him suffer physically over and over and over. He endures but we still don't know much about him beyond his suffering.

Still, all in all, I'm glad I saw it. The strange mix of beauty and savagery, the drama of mere survival, certainly held my interest.

Not a perfect film by any means but still very impressive.

Anyone else see this?

 

[Michael]

Yes, I saw it last week with my wife and a friend. My wife didn't like it, but my buddy and I greatly enjoyed it. It sure is a 'grizzly' tale (wink, wink) with a lot of violence and blood, but it had so much raw emotion, beautiful imagery, pathos and a lot of heart, that I couldn't not like it.

DiCaprio was really great, but Tom Hardy stole the show, as far as I'm concerned. I'm amazed at his range as an actor and how effortlessly he seems to slip from hero in Fury Road to villain in The Revenant. Also, how awesome was Domhnall Gleeson? First The Force Awakens and now this. I'm sure we will see him in much more after this.

The production aspects are also of note in this one: It has great cinematography and some very innovative shots (I was constantly reminded of the camera work in Birdman in this one), great makeup design (Arthur Redcloud's makeup as the mysteriously 'gothic' Hikuc was just awe-inspiring) and a phenomenal score.

Do you think he was looking into the camera at the end?

 

[auntiehill]

^Tom Hardy is amazing in this, yes. I wouldn't have even recognized him if I hadn't seen his name in the ads.

Do I think WHO was looking into the camera? I think WE, the audience, are looking into Glass' face at the end, for a reason. We are taking a final look at him, the survivor. If you mean Redcloud's character, no. I think the character was looking back at the white man, begrudgingly grateful to him for getting his daughter free but really just wanting to get away from him.

 

[Michael]

Yes, I meant Glass' look. Sorry for not making that clear. In a movie that was all about revenge (it's more or less the only thing keeping Glass going), it was pretty remarkable that ...

Spoiler: about the end of “The Revenant”

... we don't have Glass killing Hardy's character. After the deed is done by Duane Howard's chief, we see Glass' wife going away in his visions. I read that as a sign that Glass' sole motivation, the only reason he was still alive – first his son, then his revenge – was now gone. And just at the moment when he seems to realize this, his look shifts towards the audience. To me, it felt as if he was saying: “Look what all this revenge has brought me. Nothing. My wife is still gone. My son is still gone. Are you happy now?” I don't know, I felt his look was somehow important. As if we as the viewers were encouraged to think about why we actually want our heroes to succeed in their quest for revenge.

 

[auntiehill]

I see what you mean.

I think it was very telling that, in the end, he left it "up to fate," as it were, and justice was actually delivered. But, yes, I think that Glass was just left stripped bare--emotionally, spiritually--so we stare into his blank face, because he is rather left blank--free from the need for revenge, perhaps even freed from his grief, as his wife's "presence" leaves him.

I think it's one of the ways in which the film is more than just a "revenge pic" and more than just a survival story. There are bigger issues, as conveyed by the imagery, the characters, the details of both the beauty and the savagery---so the meaning of the last image we see--his face--is left for the audience to interpret as they see fit.

 

[HIjol]

The strange mix of beauty and savagery, the drama of mere survival, certainly held my interest.

Love the mind picture this word choice gives me, auntie! I had seen the trailer for this movie, and if it does not come here to the UAE, I will certainly have it on my list!

 

[137th Gebirg]

This movie got a lot of love at the Golden Globes last night. Guess I'm going to have to check it out to see what all the hubbub is about.

 

[Starbreaker]

I have mixed emotions about this film. It's beautifully shot and acted, but I though there was an emotional disconnect from what was going on. Leo is probably a shoe-in for best actor. Nothing else quite had the gravitas of his role this year.

 

[Unicron]

I saw it today and overall enjoyed it. The cinematography is incredible, especially in what must have been unpleasant winter weather to film in.

 

[DBR]

The Revenant was beautifully shot, blunt, and brutal. And I think I broke a rib after clenching my entire body for two hours and change.