Face-Off: The Revenant vs. The Grey

Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass
Tom Hardy as John Fitzgerald
Domhnall Gleeson as Captain Andrew Henry
Will Poulter as Bridger
Lukas Haas as Jones
Forrest Goodluck as Hawk

Alejandro G. Iñárritu made a name for himself with somber, character-driven dramas like BABEL and 21 GRAMS but in recent years has achieved legendary status by creating philosophical masterpieces that are also visually marvelous, like the subject of this Face-Off and BIRDMAN, both of which won him the best director Oscar two years in a row. Just like in BIRDMAN, Iñárritu not only creates a visceral showstopper, but also directs his leading man (DiCaprio) to a career-best performance. Everything he demonstrated on BIRDMAN he brought to the table here and improved on it in spades.

Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass
was nominated for an Academy Award at a young age for the movie WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE, and since then has worked to build a consistently terrific, broad resume that has earned him nods for movies like THE AVIATOR, THE WOLF OF WALL STREET and BLOOD DIAMOND. His lack of the big trophy was seen as one of Hollywood’s greatest tragedies, until one year ago when REVENANT finally earned him one of the little fellows. Doing the whole part with almost no dialogue, DiCaprio brings a raw, unhinged physicality to the role of Glass, the man who travels across harsh terrain after surviving a bear attack to whip the ass of the man who left him for dead (Hardy). A man racked with pain inside and out (emphasis on the out), DiCaprio’s performance here stands out from all his others, which is saying something. Plus, he earned another trophy for “Most Handsome Bear Attack Victim Ever”.

After a group of trappers is attacked by a vengeful tribe of Arikara warriors, frontiersman and beard master Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) must guide the survivors back to Fort Kiowa…on foot! While on a scouting trek, Glass is attacked by a massive mama grizzly bear, and needless to say, gets messed the [email protected] up. But Glass keeps on kicking, survives the ordeal, and is carried the rest of the way by his group. However, after some time, the selfish and half-scalped Fitzgerald kills Glass’s son, Hawk, and leaves Glass for dead. Glass, like a BAMF, crawls out of the dirt and begins his journey to find the man who killed his son in a quest of survival and revenge…and ominous, prophetic flashbacks.

The music from Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto certainly does it’s job of underscoring the mood in REVENANT, filling the silence and scenery with low-key, simple tones that manage to be both soulful and grand. Like a Western flick, there are a lot of string instruments at work, with long strides giving off an almost eerie effect. It’s a somber score, but also quite lovely. Kind of curious about what kind of dreams I would have if I fell asleep to it.

It may be DiCaprio’s show, but he’s virtually upset by the awe-inspiring landscape of and fantastic visual effects (most props going to the bear). The film was shot across Canada, America (Montana) and Argentina when it was decided Canada had gotten too warm. No matter where they were, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki made it look like heaven, taking scenery known to the human eye and giving it a whole new perspective. Iñárritu no doubt won his Oscar too by making use of the landscape, directing thrilling action sequences that make the most out of vast spaces, while never losing the moment or the characters. The film was made for $135 million, making it, perhaps, the most beautiful big-budget movie ever.

THE REVENANT is a movie about survival yes, but it’s also a revenge tale, and all of it takes place in the 19th century. So, the movie doesn’t really make use of its time by showing off Glass’s set of skills. His determination and fortitude are his most admirable traits, and though he shows off some handy work on his throat and makes nice use of a horse carcass we don’t see too many survivalist techniques on display here.

As mentioned above the team on REVENANT does an astounding job of filming the terrain, but other than some cold nights it never seems all too dangerous, in terms of geographical elements. The sun is often out, the wind is mild, there’s plenty of vegetation and water around. If it weren’t for outside elements, like being crippled by a bear and hunted by tribes, I’d say Leo would’ve had a really enjoyable, scenic trip back to kill Hardy.

Oscars:

Best Actor – Leo (Won)

Best Director: Alejandro (Won)

Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki (Won)

Best Picture (Nominated)

Best Supporting Actor: Hardy (Nominated)

Best Editing (Nominated)

Best Costume Design (Nominated)

Best Visual Effects (Nominated)

Best Makeup (Nominated)

Best Sound Mixing (Nominated)

Best Sound Editing (Nominated)

Best Production Design (Nominated)

Golden Schmoes:

Best Actor: Leo (Won)

Best Director: Alejandro (2nd Place)

Most Memorable Scene: “Bear Attack” (2nd Place)

Favorite Movie (Nominated)

Trippiest Movie (Nominated)

Supporting Actor: Hardy (Nominated)

Best Trailer (Nominated)

Best Action Sequence: “Bear Attack” (Nominated)

Box Office:

$183 million ($532 million global)

Reception:

Rotten Tomatoes: 81% (84% audience)

IMDB: 8.0

Metacritic: 76 (8.0 audience)

Opening raid. So many arrows.


DiCaprio vs. The Bear


Fitzgerald to Bridger:”I saved your life twice now. I ought to be God to you. And God giveth, and God taketh away.


Get up, Leo! Get up, ya bum!


Fitzgerald to Bridger: “God…he’s a squirrel. Yeah, big, old meaty one. ‘I found God,’ he used to say. ‘And while sitting and basking in the glory and sublimity of mercy, I shot and ate that son of a bitch.'”


Set fire to the throat.


DiCaprio goes white water rafting.


Bye, bye, French penis!


He took a little tumble off the cliff.


EMPIRE STRIKES BACK REDUX


Leo vs. Hardy. Two beards enter, one beard leaves