“As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. You breathe…keep breathing.” These are the words that Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) repeatedly instilled in his son (Forrest Goodluck) and the words he is forced to live by after a vicious bear attack leaves him clinging to life, alone in the American wilderness, and in vengeful pursuit of John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), the man who deserted him after murdering his son. Alejandro González Iñárritu’s bloody revenge western The Revenant is an epic story of survival and fate. Hugh Glass is plagued by spiritual visions, his conscience waging war with his hunger for vengeance upon Fitzgerald.
The concept of breathing appears time and again throughout the film as a running motif. Before the first frame even appears on screen, the light, yet labored, breathing of Glass can be heard as he sleeps. In other instances, the camera would be placed so close to the actors that their breath would fog up the lens. Camera ingenuity such as this should come as no surprise when the cinematographer in question is Emmanuel Lubezki. Celebrated for his camera work in films like Gravity and Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), which was also directed by Iñárritu, the cinematography in The Revenant is no less striking. Gorgeous photography of the harsh wintry landscapes encapsulates the beauty of nature and serves as a constant reminder, amidst the savagery of its inhabitants, that this life is worth fighting for. The sweeping, wraparound covered battle scene between the Indians and Glass' hunting party is frighteningly real and unforgiving. Meticulously choreographed, the death filled scene moves at a frantic pace with very few cuts. A camera tilt to the sky after the dust settles informs the viewer that god is watching.
Nothing can prepare you for the terrifying encounter between Glass and a bear protecting her cubs. The bear is relentless in its aggression and not for a second do you lose sight of its strength. The Revenant is elevated even further by riveting performances from DiCaprio and Hardy. The bear attack leaving him battered and unable to speak for the majority of the film, Hugh Glass is Dicaprio’s most physical role to date. Battling the elements while fighting off death, Glass is forced to endure against incredible circumstances and the wear and tear of this never leaves DiCaprio's intense gaze. The look of excruciating agony on his face, foaming at the mouth trying to speak, as Fitzgerald ends his son's life is gut wrenching. The camera tilts up again here signalling further judgment from above. Tom Hardy is cold and calculating as the despicable foil Fitzgerald. With a mumbling southern drawl, he demonstrates a complete lack of compassion as a blasphemous man who even goes as far as to call himself god. Brutal and equally beautiful, The Revenant is a visually stunning revisionist western that questions the act of vengeance.
