The perils of violating nature

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in "The Revenant." Image courtesy 20th Century Fox.

Nature is a cruel, beguiling presence in “The Revenant.” It’s a being capable of inflicting great pain upon Leonardo DiCaprio's ill-fated Hugh Glass or providing the perfect situation for revenge, and does so while remaining neutral to the conflicts taking place within it. Nature’s fickle and complex, making it the most well-rounded being “The Revenant” has to offer, which is less an insult toward the film than a reflect of director and co-writer Alejandro González Iñárritu's view on mankind's lack of importance in the grand scheme of things.

The men in “The Revenant” aren't exactly the most virtuous of people either though. DiCaprio's Glass, a scout for a small fur trapping expedition in the 1820s, is the closest the audience gets to a likable character. He works alongside his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) as guides for the expedition, at least until the group is attacked by Ree warriors searching for leader Elk Dog's (Duane Howard) kidnapped daughter Powaqa (Melaw Nakehk'o) and forced to flee for its lives. DiCaprio knows the way to the nearest fort, but is unfortunately mauled by a bear and cannot walk or talk, let alone guide a collection of confused men back to safe territory. Unable to carry him up a mountain, expedition leader Capt. Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson) leaves Goodluck, young trapper Bridger (Will Poulter) and malcontent John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) to tend to DiCaprio until the man finally dies. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise when Hardy ends up betraying DiCaprio and leaves the injured frontiersman for dead. Left to fend for himself in his own grave, DiCaprio drags himself out and begins the perilous journey to the fort, facing off against the woods, the Ree warriors roaming the countryside, and his mortality.

“The Revenant” has all the trappings of a man vs. nature narrative. It's DiCaprio effectively alone in the woods fending off the cold, the snow and the vicious creatures thrown at him by an uncaring deity. But any victory Iñárritu shows during the course of the film is very much short term and often detrimental to those who opt to assist DiCaprio in his quest. As Iñárritu frames it, nobody really wins against nature; the best a person can do is survive and find another way to die.

Since a fight against nature is a losing battle, Iñárritu frames the true conflict in “The Revenant” as one among men tainted by the evils of revenge, greed and cowardice. Human nature is the driving force of the main conflict, represented by the triangle of death between DiCaprio, Hardy, and the Ree warriors who are on a quest that could very well be a film of its own. (It has been when the races were flipped in movies like “The Searchers”). Their conflict is fueled by sin and self-righteousness and doesn't end until the last bits of blood are absorbed by the natural world as a sacrifice of sorts for survival.

Blood is almost currency for “The Revenant,” at least considering how much of it is spilled and flowed. Poor DiCaprio gets the worst of it by far – the man grunts and screams in agony more often than he speaks – although a fair number of participants are stabbed, shot, castrated, raped, lynched, strangled and beaten mercilessly in the pursuit of self-preservation and revenge. It's as if the film is built on pain, both the physical sensation inflicted on DiCaprio and friends and the mental wounds inflicted upon the unfortunate DiCaprio. The film is built to hurt and built to cause audiences to squirm in reaction to that pain; the bear attack and its aftermath stirred a few groans and knuckle nips among viewers.

Contrasting all of the brutality felt by the humans is the tranquility of the setting around them. “The Revenant” is often blissfully quiet, with Iñárritu keeping his character’s mouths shut to tell his story through the eyes of the natural world. The ambient noise speaks volumes in this film, as does the images of snow melting and the river running and the reminder that, perhaps, things would be better if the humans weren’t around to trespass on the tranquility.

Sadly, much of the dialogue that is spoken is heavy and absent of subtlety. The messages sent by “The Revenant” are very, very clear, but Iñárritu still insists on having the characters spout it out to hammer home a clear and unnecessary point. For a movie that just breathes mystery and wonderment, a few words less would have said more than anything uttered by the characters themselves.

Review: Four out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: R

Run time: 156 minutes

Genre: Adventure

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Target audience: Art film fans and anyone who likes watching wanton bear attacks.

Take the whole family?: The bear attack alone is horrifying enough to keep the kids at home.

Theater or Netflix?: Matinee it to at least see why it’s getting the Academy Award buzz.

Academy Award chances?: It’s another solid contender for a Best Picture nomination, and the film will more than likely nab nods for Alejandro González Iñárritu in directing and for Best Adapted Screenplay. Most notably, Leonardo DiCaprio is the (early) favorite to win his first acting Oscar, which isn't too surprising; he is very good, and the competition isn't that deep this year.

Watch this as well?: Werner Herzog's epic “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” shares themes of colonization and the perils of violating nature with “The Revenant,” although Herzog's film is a little stranger and much more complex. Also take a look at “The New World,” Terrance Malick's beautiful and haunting interpretation of the Pocahontas story.