Bearded Leonardo DiCaprio starred The Revenant has been much talked about movie in 2015. It’s a great combination of Adventure, Revenge and Western genre. 2015 has been a good year for Western lovers, as it has brought us three successful Western movies: The Hateful Eight, Tom Bonahawk and The Revenant. The two are surely better than Tom Bonahawk which unfortunately ends with a weaker impact.
Storyline: A team of trappers and hunters was surrounded and attacked by Native Indians. They somehow escaped, but they were still being followed by the Indians. Meanwhile lone Hugh Glass in jungle stumbles upon a grizzly bear protecting her cubs. Glass somehow manages to kill the bear with his rifle and a knife, but this event leaves him nearly dead. Henry, the leader, was suggested to kill Glass by John (the antagonist), as they thought stretcher ridden Glass was slowing them down. But on the request of Hawk (Glass’s half-Indian son) he decides not to kill him and asks for volunteers to take care of Glass till he’s dead. The malevolent John, Glass’s son Hawk and another boy stay, while others leave. John, in the absence of the boy, kills Hawk in front of helpless Glass. He convinces the boy that the Indians may have killed Hawk and they must leave the place.
The long survival adventure, which is the foreground of the film, begins for Glass. After many days, he was found by a team of searchers. Glass tells them the true story of John. John’s already fled to the wilderness fearing for his life. Glass finds him out and takes his ‘revenge’. The film ends with the quote: Revenge is in god’s hands not mine.
Positives: This film is a perfect plate for survival-adventure lovers. The film successfully portrays the long survival efforts made by Glass, which could’ve been boring. The film quenches audience’s thirst for ‘revenge’. Leo’s fight with grizzly bear was shot skillfully. The haunting wilderness and harness make audience shiver. The film’s portrayal of wilderness was praiseworthy. The filmmakers have tried to give a poetic and philosophical touch to the movie which makes us think about life, survival and death. There were many Indian proverbs and philosophy being shown time to time. The film also makes us ponder our racial prejudices, and makes us ponder who was more savage, Whites or the ‘savages’. Tom Hardy’s performance outshines others. It is good to see that old Western dramas and period movies are doing well even today.
Negatives: The film could be a little lengthy. The events in the film couldn’t be verified, so it may not be a ‘based on true story’ film. Leo’s survival adventure story was not completely different from other survival stories. But the blend of the revenge and the history drama did the trick. Though the movie is about the protagonist Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy comes out as a better artist.
