The Revenant. Rated MA15+ (strong bloody violence, themes and sexual violence). 156 minutes. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Screenplay by Mark L Smith and Alejandro González Iñárritu. Based in part on The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge by Michael Punke.
Of The Revenant’s many contradictions, the main one is how a true story of such relentless brutality can also be one of the most beautiful films in recent memory. It is a film that you will often want to hide from as much as be hypnotised by its immense natural splendour, photographed to perfection by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman, Gravity, The Tree of Life).
It is 1823, and fur-trapper Hugh Glass’ (Leonardo DiCaprio) ordeal begins in the deceptive tranquillity of a swiftly flowing creek, where he and his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) are stalking their prey. At the base camp nearby, the other trappers, lead by the wound-up John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), are preparing to load their precious cargo onto a boat when they are attacked by hunters from the Native American Arikara tribe.
Those lucky enough to escape the truly merciless attack, decide to head inland and back to the relative safety of their fort. During a moment of rare respite, Glass finds himself in the presence of two bear cubs and their very angry mother, who wastes no time in taking on the threat to her young.
Miraculously, Glass survives the ferocious attack, only to be deserted by Fitzgerald and the young Bridger (Will Poulter), who were to stay with him until he either died or help returned. Dragging himself from his shallow grave, Glass begins his impossibly challenging journey home.
Iñárritu (Birdman, Babel, 21 Grams) commands every element of his uncompromising masterpiece, with DiCaprio, and each member of the outstanding cast, delivering performances that are more like incomprehensible feats of endurance. For those who love riveting survival stories, The Revenant is one of the very best – an immersive, unforgettable cinematic experience.
This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.
Birdman. Rated MA 15+ (strong coarse language). 119 minutes. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Screenplay by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo.
Verdict: Batman meets Birdman.
Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is famous for playing superhero Birdman in a successful series of films. Desperate to inject his life and career with some artistic integrity, Thomson puts everything he has on the line to write, direct and star in a Broadway play. His Birdman alter ego, however, has other ideas about how easy it is going to be for him leave the much-loved character behind once and for all.
Deep within this hectic collision of style over content lies a fascinating premise. Hollywood stars have long envied their theatre-making colleagues (and vice versa), while famous celebrities appearing in plays can guarantee sold out seasons that run for months. So what are the differences between film and theatre for actors? And why does Thomson believe one ‘star turn’ to be more important than the other?
Birdman, instead, reads and plays like a bad soap opera, and Iñárritu (Babel, 21 Grams) and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki’s (Gravity) vision for the film to run as one long, single take simply becomes torturous. There is hardly a moment of stillness or silence, which only reveals a drama so riddled with clichés that it cannot possibly survive any kind of intelligent interrogation.
Keaton, who was obviously cast because he played Batman twice in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), has his moments, and the rest of the cast are obviously working incredibly hard to meet Iñárritu’s gruelling expectations.
But Birdman’s fatal flaw is the scene where the film turns into what is obviously a Birdman film, with spectacular special effects and swooping prehistoric creatures. His alter ego snarls that this is the film that the people want to see. In this case he is, rather unfortunately, absolutely right.
This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.
