Analysis of the Film "The Revenant" by Michael Punke

The Revenant is a movie by Michael Punke which was based-on fictionalized novel of the 19th century bear trapper Hugh Glass which was played by Leonardo DiCaprio. After a cruel bear attack Glass is left for dead in the wilds by his group in South Dakota with the harsh elements, murderous native Americans.

With two complex characters played by two actors Leonardo DiCaprio & Tom Hardy at the top of their game, the film builds to a tense and deeply personal confrontation. Glass is generous to track down the man -- John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) who betrayed him while Glass was injured but also killed his son while he was powerless to stop him and responsible for leaving him behind,

While The Revenant is mostly argued as a survival story or a revenge story, to me it is more of an exploration of men as animals. Between Glass’s animalistic drive for retribution, the native Americans and their on-going quest to find a kidnapped person of their tribe and the bear themselves has largely the same goal -- to protect their young. The bear mauling acts was the inciting incident for the drama, which is also driven by that bear protecting her cubs when Glass comes across them while scouting.

Using ‘one long take’ technique, the attack is relentless, desperate, and brutal. Quite how it was put together I still can’t figure out. The Revenant is the perfect combination of source martial, directorial style and performance. If you think of yourself as a film fan in any way it is certainly deserving of your time. In my experience the biggest negative in the movie was exactly the use of some post-production methods. When John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) put a luggage or bag on the horse he accidently hit the camera and the scene was shaky for a bit, it’s a clearly mistake by the production team.

The camera lens gets foggy when Hugh Glass breathes on it when he was beside his son who was murdered by Fitzgerald is surely an unpredicted occurrence, yet seeing the foggy lens two more times makes it feel like either a planned beforehand.

In the last scene when Glass look into the camera, he has resolved to keep pushing so long as he has survived to take revenge for his son murderer. His expression as he turns to the camera is incurable -- does he appear satisfied, fulfilled by his vengeance or the fact that he did not take revenge with his own hands?