The American survival and revenge film, The Revenant, was directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu, and was adapted to the screen by Mark L. Smith and Inarritu. It was based in part on Michael Punke’s novel, about mountaineer and fur trapper Hugh Glass in 1823 in Montana and South Dakota. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Glass, with Tom Hardy as John Fitzgerald, Domhnall Gleeson plays Andrew Henry, with Will Poulter as Jim Bridger. Duane Howard is Elk Dog and Forrest Goodluck is Hawk with a great cast in supporting roles rounding out the necessary characters in this well written and acted film. It has won three Golden Globe Awards, five BAFTA Awards and is nominated for 12 Academy Awards.
The literature, written in 2002 by Michael Punke, tells the story of Hugh Glass, a thirty-six-year-old American frontiersman, in 1823, years after the Lewis and Clark Expedition where Glass joins the Rocky Mountain Fur Company on an undertaking to explore unmapped territory. He is chosen to scout ahead of the main group when he is viciously attacked by a mother grizzly bear. His scalp is almost completely torn off, his back is deeply scarred, his throat is clawed wide open and he is unconscious when he is found. Two fellow trappers are assigned and paid to stay with him, waiting for him to die, while the remainder of the group travels on. John Fitzgerald, a cruel mercenary, and Jim Bridger, a young mountain man, stay behind, caring for Glass as best they can, and will bury Glass when he dies. Because they are fearful of the possibility of Indians discovering them, they decide to leave Glass, robbing him of his knife and rifle; the things that might have given him a chance to protect himself. He does survive and seeks revenge against these two men who left him in the wilderness to die.
It was a well written novel, combining historical fact with some exaggerated fiction to keep the readers interest from lagging. It also does not dwell on his family’s life…his Indian wife and son…as does the film. The movie is an intermediate translation of the novel since it neither conforms exactly nor departs entirely from the literature.
The storyline and plot of the film starts in the same time period as the book, in 1823, with a company of trappers lead by Captain Andrew Henry, searching for fur pelts in the Northern Plains in the territory now known as the Dakotas. The Arikara Indians attack the troop, killing many, with the rest fleeing on a boat. Hugh Glass is their guide, who suggests that they leave the boat and start the trip back on foot to Fort Kiowa, their outpost. Not everyone is happy about this change, especially John Fitzgerald, who has taken a dislike to Glass and his half-Indian son, mainly because he, Fitzgerald, was partially scalped by some Indians years ago. While scouting ahead, he is attacked by a mother grizzly bear and is severely clawed and bitten. He is discovered near death and is carried with the group; however, Fitzgerald states that Glass will not be able to live with his injuries and that they should kill him in order to speed up their trip. The Captain offers money to those who are will to stay behind with Glass rather than killing him. Fitzgerald and Hawk, along with Jim Bridger volunteer. A promise is solicited by Fitzgerald to stay with Glass until he dies and is buried.
Since Fitzgerald is a cruel and vicious man, he does not choose to wait until Glass dies and tries to smother him, but Hawk sees what he is trying to do and they fight. Unfortunately, Fitzgerald kills Hawk while Glass helplessly watches it happen. Bridger is away from the camp at the time and is told upon his return that Hawk has gone missing (actually, Fitzgerald has buried him) and since the Arikara are near, they need to leave Glass and quickly bury him in a shallow grave, taking his knife and rifle, leaving him defensive. With only a canteen in his possession, Glass survives and walks for days, slowly getting stronger. He manages to elude the Arikara who are looking for the chief’s kidnapped daughter by floating down the rapids of a nearby river.
Bridger figures out that Fitzgerald has lied about what happened to Hawk and Glass, but is intimidated to remain quiet. Fitzgerald tells the Captain that Glass did die from his wounds and Hawk was probably killed by the Arikara. He is paid what was promised. Bridger refuses to accept his payment. At this point, Glass has come across a friendly Pawnee Indian named Hikuc, who shares buffalo meat with him, treats his infections with maggots and tells Glass that he too has lost his family. Glass awakes the following morning to find Hikuc hung by a group of French pelt hunters. It is here that Glass discovers the leader of this group raping the chief’s daughter Powaqa, he frees her, kills two her captors, retakes Hikuc’s horse and escapes. Running into the Arikara again, he eludes them by diving off a cliff, killing a horse and hides inside the horse’s carcass to survive.
Meanwhile, at Fort Kiowa, a surviving French fur trapper arrives carrying with him Bridger’s canteen that Glass had left behind in their camp. The Captain organizes a search party, looking to find Glass. Fitzgerald believes now that Glass is still alive and after him, steals money from the fort and leaves before Glass finds him. The search party finds Glass and brings him back to the fort. Bridger is charged with treason, but thanks to Glass is freed and the Captain, along with Glass go after the real culprit, Fitzgerald. Unfortunately, Fitzgerald ambushes the Captain, killing and scalping him.
It is here again that Glass’s skill in the frontier comes into play. He pretends to be dead which affords him the opportunity to ambush Fitzgerald, shooting him in the shoulder. They end fighting in the woods where Glass is about to kill Fitzgerald, but decides to push him downstream to the Arikara. Fitzgerald is scalped and killed, but Glass is spared, walking away, hallucinating about his dead wife and son.
Some of the differences from the novel to the film concern the references to Glass’ wife and son, which are not mentioned in the book, as is the fact that Glass did not kill the bear as he did in the film, and since his son was not mentioned, Fitzgerald did not kill him. Seeing many of Inarritu’s films, he includes issues and concerns of intense familial and parental relations and in this film, he has included the theme of revenge for killing his son. But in the book, he is seeking retribution for the stealing of his prized rifle and leaving him to die. Also, the Captain did not get killed in the book and Fitzgerald was caught fighting and court martialled not killed by the Indians as the film portrayed.
However, the cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki, the costume designing by Jacqueline West, the set production by Jack Fisk, the editing by Stephen Mirrione and the music by Ryuichi Nakamoto, Alva Noto and Bryce Dessner were excellent, as was the direction by Inarritu and acting by Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. The dialog was hard to understand in parts, but the visual effects were exceptional. Shot in many locations in Canada, the United States and Argentina happened mainly due to the weather which was too warm in Canada. The difficulties in filming this movie caused a few of the crew to quit or be fired. The book deals with the West and the frontier as does the film, sort of a cowboy and Indian movie, but it tells the story of testing the limits of how much the human body and spirit can take.
This is an excellent film due to the acting talents of DiCaprio and Hardy and the extraordinary cinematography and direction. GRADE: 4.5 of 5 crowns 
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