THE REVENANT (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2016)

-

They said revenge is a dish best served cold, and in Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu's latest film, Leonardo DiCaprio takes that philosophy all too literally. 

"The Revenant" is inspired by the true events surrounding 19th century frontiersman Hugh Glass, who is left to die in the freezing wilderness after being viciously attacked by a bear. While not his best performance, DiCaprio churns out a forceful turn as Glass, unleashing fury when needed be, and showing restraint in moments of solemnity. 

Tom Hardy, on the other hand is downright wicked as fellow fur trapper John Fitzgerald, delivering a praise-worthy performance that hails among his best screen personas. Every snarl, every stare comes like a death blow, and you believe he will really kill you without hesitation. 

Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter also render effective supporting performances as Captain Andrew Henry and young trapper Jim Bridger, respectively. Gleeson is far away now from his good boy image in "About Time," while Poulter is not the goofy teen anymore from "We're the Millers." I guess the wild really brings out the beast in every man.

Iñárritu has no doubt mounted a larger-than-life survival revenge epic that puts the viewer right in Glass' shoes, right up there in the snowy mountains where danger lurks at every turn. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki once again renders one heart-stopping shot after another. Filmed only with natural light, Lubezki paints a backdrop of beauty amid a foreground of unrelenting horror, and the irony could not be more vividly told. Chunks of ice swim placidly as DiCaprio figures out his own survival; clouds move in slow motion behind the towering, ominous trees; a daring daytime Indian raid on Glass' company is intensely shot in close range for chilling effect, while the beautiful waters are awash with blood.

Although mostly a tale of Glass' survival and ultimate revenge, the film references the tumultuous era of warring Indian tribes, and the ultimate slaughter of countless natives at the hands of foreigners. In macro terms, "The Revenant" exposes the horrors of human nature, especially during unjust times, but in the end, no act of cruelty will go unpunished. Just ask the French pelt hunters.

The killing of Glass' son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) signifies the loss of innocence in the film, where all matters of kindness are repealed with bloodlust. The other younger character, Bridger experiences a crisis of conscience, too midway through the film, but because it is a grown-up world, adults have the power, and young Bridger is forced to grow up as well as the plot progresses. 

"The Revenant" is thrilling, mesmerizing and highly-involving, which is an an amazing feat for Iñárritu who managed to coordinate all the chaos and turn it into a terrifyingly beautiful portrait of the wild west. However, Iñárritu has created more compelling dramas than this one, and in his attempt to take on an optimistic approach for possibly the first time, the film stumbles into a cat-and-mouse revenge plot in the end. Given that 'The Revenant" is enormously more exciting than the historical facts (it was based on Michael Punke's 2002 novel of the same name, but yes, Glass was actually mauled by a bear. That part is true), the storytelling still lacks emotional punch.  And far worse, he looks like he is going for a Terrence Malick-style exploration of the metaphysical, with all the voice-overs and longings for the past. To his credit, both he and Malick share the same cinematographer, so maybe that's that. Maybe.

Make no mistake, "The Revenant" is still a powerful journey of survival, just not Iñárritu's best. For maximum gut-wrenching drama, opt for "Amores Perros." For sheer ingenuity, "Birdman" takes the cake.

RATING: 4/5   
  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ANINO SA LIKOD NG BUWAN (Jun Lana, 2015)

-
Image
* English title "Shadow behind the Moon" The best term to describe Jun Lana's latest film would be a cinematic charade- a game of identities, of motives, of suppressed passions, and of uncertainty. Or the film equivalent of a Russian doll, if you will. "Anino sa Likod ng Buwan" only has three characters- husband and wife Nando (Anthony Falcon) and Emma (LJ Reyes) and military man Joel (Luis Alandy). What started as a seemingly routine banter among friends gradually and intensely escalated into an examination of society, where the definition of immorality is blurred during a time of insurgency.  And in fact, the film does discuss the subject of immorality from various paradigms. When does adultery become acceptable, and to whom? Is sexual liberation more heinous than murder? Why is immorality always a double standard? The film plays out the ideas in endless games. Or are they really games at all? Lana could have stopped there, but he didn...
Read more

TUHOG (Jeffrey Jeturian)

-
Image
Film within a film-structured movies are always interesting watch. Not only do they provide a much-needed deconstruction of form and content of cinema itself, but also that much-needed emotional punch a cinephile would surely love.  Like in BAD EDUCATION (Almodovar, 2004), we witness the characters tell the back story via montage, as if we are part of the cast of characters watching an actual movie. The form was successful in evoking pain and regret, and also of empathy. In TUHOG, Jeffrey Jeturian and screenwriter Bing Lao tackles sensational media in the Philippines, especially in cinema. The film opens as a film producer hears a pitch for a possible movie- a story of a grandfather who rapes his own granddaughter.  The director of the film soon after visits the victim of the crime, Floring (Ina Raymundo). Coercing both she and her mother, Perla (Irma Adlawan) to sell them the movie rights to their story, we witness as exploitation cinema unfolds. To think of it, capitaliz...
Read more

BIGKIS (Neal Tan, 2014)

-
Image
As an advocacy film, BIGKIS (INTERTWINED) gets its message across. The state of maternal healthcare in the Philippines is downright depressing, with mothers seated on the floor of public hospitals due to shortage of beds, medical equipment and hospital staff. The baby better be gaping through the birth canal before the mother receives serious medical attention.  Such social issue has been featured countless times in local documentaries and even in a feature film (2011's BAHAY BATA), but BIGKIS pushes the envelope further by bridging a connection between mother and child by means of breastfeeding, and in doing so, promoting breastfeeding in the process.  As a drama, the film tends to squeeze too much tragedy from the downtrodden lives of its characters that a lot of the dialogue feels staged for us to feel sorry for their countless miseries. Mariel (LJ Reyes), a teenage mother deals with an unwanted pregnancy and worse, the abandonment of her baby's father (Pancho ...
Read more