It’s often easy to scoff at the phrase “from the visionary director of…”, but let’s face it, there is no better phrase to use when talking about Alejandro González Iñárritu. Judging by the trailer above, his upcoming film The Revenant — starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy and Lukas Haas — looks to be a western action thriller sure to cause some white knuckle, edge-of-seat watching.
The film, based on the book of the same name, stars DiCaprio stars as a semi-fictionalized version of real life frontiersman and all around badass Hugh Glass. In the early 1800s, Glass was mauled by a bear (and survived), attacked by Native American tribe while recovering (and survived), and abandoned by his companions, left to die left with no food or weapons and his own broken leg to attend to after the attack… AND HE SURVIVED! As movie subject matter goes, you really can’t ask for anything better.
The word revenant means “one that returns after death or a long absence”, so it’s clear to see where the plot of this movie is heading: with DiCaprio likely hunting down his former allies (Hardy and Haas) for some sweet old-fashioned revenge or, at the very least, some answers.
Iñárritu returns with Birdman cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, which is, of course, a formula for absolutely beautiful filmmaking. The closeup shots of DiCaprio’s intense and panicked face sweeping over to wider shots of exactly why he’s so panicked puts us in the action. Much like Birdman, we feel immersed in the action as if we’re really there. Additionally promising is the beauty and difficulty of these shots as Iñárritu has said, “The light is very reduced here in winter, and we are not shooting with any electrical lighting, just natural light. And every single scene is so difficult — emotionally, technically.”
This first trailer is incredible in its ability to cause equal parts intrigue and anxiety and we cannot wait for more.
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What do you think of The Revenant? Does anyone want to start camping out in line with/for me? Let us know in the comments below.
