A Movie Review: The Revenant

The Revenant. Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) are out hunting. They are part of a fur trading expedition. Back at the camp site, a Native American tribe launches an attack on the traders. Hugh and Hawk rush back to the camp, which is being over-run. The camp was next to a river and so a small few make it to one of the boats, escaping down the river. We learn why the Native American tribe attacked. The daughter of the chief was kidnapped and they're out looking for her. In this case, the fur traders had nothing to do with the kidnapping of the daughter.

The surviving fur traders turn to Hugh Glass to lead them back to their outpost. Though there are disagreements, Hugh convinces Captain Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson) to abandon the boat and head back via land. He is convinced that the Native Americans are waiting down the river and will ambush the boat and so it is much better to go by land to avoid the assured ambush.

Early one morning, Hugh is off either doing some scouting or out looking to hunt. He is attacked by a mother bear and is severely injured. He is found by the fur traders and they do their best to provide him medical care as well as attempt to carry him back to their outpost; however, they soon come to the conclusion that it isn't possible to carry him all the way back. Captain Henry decides that it is best to end Hugh's pain and shoot him, but in the end he isn't able to do so. He offers a bonus to anyone who will stay with Hugh until he dies. John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) and Bridger (Will Poulter) volunteer to stay behind along with Hawk.

Hugh continues to cling to life, which distresses John Fitzgerald who assumed that he would die quickly. As Hugh continues to grow weaker, an apparent deal is struck between John and Hugh. John will help Hugh commit suicide and in exchange John will make sure that Hawk is transported safely back to the outpost. A problem arises when Hawk arrives on the scene while John is assisting in the suicide. Hawk attacks John. John, in what appears to be driven perhaps more by his mental instability versus intentional, kills Hawk. In a panic, John hides Hawk's body, leaving Bridger in the dark of what he's done.

Later, claiming that the Native American tribe is drawing close, John convinces Bridger that they need to abandon Hugh and run for their lives. They partially bury Hugh in a grave and then take off. Hugh starts to recover and then slowly makes his way back to the outpost to exact revenge on John.

This movie is set against a dreary, cold, snow covered landscape. Against that harsh landscape, people make sometimes cruel decisions. Yet, these decisions can be seen as necessary. Should Captain Henry have pulled the trigger on Hugh? Would that have been murder or an attempt to save the larger group. In some ways, no one is necessarily moral. For example, the Native American tribe attacks all camps with abandon, even those that have nothing to do with the kidnapping of the daughter. They only deal with one camp that can provide them with needed supplies. John comes to a harsh agreement with Hugh as he is fearful of both the elements and Native Americans who are on the warpath. Yes, we learn throughout the movie that John is guilty of one misdeed after another (murder, theft, abandonment), but was the suicide agreement a wrong one to make? This movie casts many of the characters in either a negative or positive light, but I think what makes this movie great is that many of the actions these characters make are not as easy to define as one might initially think.