Cold Revenge in The Revenant

Everything is cold in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's The Revenant - from the breathtaking cinematography of the winter skies, snow-covered mountains, and frozen river to the way characters killed each other in cold blood. It is so cold that Leonardo DiCaprio's breath blurred the camera at some point. But beneath the icy exterior, something is smoldering in this movie. It started with a small blaze, then gave a steady glow, until it reached a final burn, then swiftly died again.


In his career-defining role, DiCaprio as the frontiersman Hugh Glass carried the torch all throughout this film and unselfishly and equally shared the torch to the supporting cast. Much has been demanded from him from in this film, and whether he was attacked by the bear, chased by the Arikari Indians, or buried alive, he was giving it his all both physically and emotionally.

The Revenant follows the legendary fur trapper and hunter Hugh Glass, considered to be the angriest man in U.S. history. The film begins with Glass and his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) hunting on their own in the Missouri wilderness. When they go back to their camp, they are aghast to find their fellow trappers being attacked by the Arikari Indians who are looking for the kidnapped daughter of their leader. They hurriedly load their boats and run for safety. They trudge up the Grand River valley where Glass is attacked and fatally wounded by a grizzly. When the trip back to their fort becomes burdensome because of the dying Glass, the captain, Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson) decides to leave him with two men who will make sure to give Glass a decent burial when he passes away. The two men John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) and the younger Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) volunteer after Henry said they will be given $300 each for their services. Even with the severe back wounds and the scraped throat, Glass continues breathing, increasing the infuriation of the greedy Fitzgerald. By lying to Bridger and by killing Hawk, Fitzgerald leaves Glass for dead and literally buries him alive. And it is from here that we take the journey with Glass as he crawls from his dug up grave, regain his strength and fight off the harsh elements and the Arikaris until he takes revenge on Fitzgerald.

The bear's attack destroyed Glass' body, but it never broke his spirit. The resilience of a human body when motivated to rise up and take revenge has been aptly shown in this film. In fact, that is the central theme of The Revenant. Perhaps, this is what makes this film so moving - the thought that a strong and burning emotion such as revenge could make you defy all the odds. To let the audience sit for two hours and let this theme sink in might be dragging for some, but the film has enough eye-candy to hook you until the very end. Tom Hardy as the villain is so convincing that it is easy to hate him and root for Glass even from the beginning. It is Hardy's hostile presence (and the bear's too) that set the events in motion. The apparition of Glass' dead wife and son seemed unnecessary, but they added mysticism to the plot.

Just like any films anchored on legendary men and their exploits, this one also has its pitfalls. It did not stay true to the real accounts in Glass' life. For one, Glass did not have a son nor a wife. Another is that Glass was not able to kill Fitzgerald - he only got his rifle back and shamed the latter. By romanticizing the real Glass' journey, the film fell short on convincing the audience about Glass' heroism.

Aside from telling us that revenge is literally best served cold (DiCaprio and Hardy's fight scene in the snow should be watched out for), this film also tackles belief in God, capitalism, and morality and ethics. DiCaprio embraced Glass' character, but there was a scene where he still sounded like Jack from his Titanic days. Nevertheless, this is truly DiCaprio's film.

This film will make you sympathize with Glass' character, and even with its uncertain ending (did Glass die?) and long playing time, this is one movie you will not regret watching.

Is revenge best served cold? It literally is in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's film The Revenant starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.