The Revenant’s final scene remains unshot; DiCaprio’s dialogue is minimal

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

From day one, Alejandro Iñárritu’s THE REVENANT sounded like it was going to take an incredible amount of effort to pull off; shot in sequence, in remote locations, using only natural light, in lesser hands I would have doubted that THE REVENANT would even see the light of day. After a spectacular first trailer it seems as though Alejandro Iñárritu and company have managed to pull it off, but the work isn't done yet; due to some uncooperative weather Alejandro Iñárritu has had to switch locations in order to stay ahead of the melting snow.

Alejandro Iñárritu in an interview with Grantland:

The snow melted down, literally, in front of our eyes, we experienced global warming; we were planning to shoot the ending scene in a location that supposedly will have snow …[but there were] bees. So we had to shut down.

An upcoming final set of shooting days will find the production heading to Ushuaia, Argentina, which is one of the closest locations to the South Pole that you can go to that isn't the South Pole. After such a long road it must be a relief to finally be so close to the finish line.

A Synopsis for THE REVENANT:

Inspired by true events, THE REVENANT is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience capturing one man’s epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. In a quest to survive, Glass endures unimaginable grief as well as the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Guided by sheer will and the love of his family, Glass must navigate a vicious winter in a relentless pursuit to live and find redemption.

As we can surmise from the trailer, THE REVENANT will not be an overly talky film, in fact Alejandro Iñárritu states that Leonardo DiCaprio, who has played his fair share of verbose characters, is virtually silent in the film:

Honestly, Leo, he’s attacked by a bear, and after that, he becomes almost like a silent character: a lot of things going on, but no words, that’s for me the essence of cinema: not to rely on the words, but images and emotions.

Leonardo DiCaprio added:

It was a different type of challenge for me, because I’ve played a lot of very vocal characters. It’s something that I really wanted to investigate — playing a character that says almost nothing. How do you relay an emotional journey and get in tune with this man’s angst … without words?

With an all-star cast and crew working long and hard to give us something special, I've little doubt that we should be in for a wonderful treat once THE REVENANT is finally released on December 25, 2015.