The Revenant

Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is one of many in a large hunting party in search of pelts (animal furs) within the unsettled and cold, dark wilderness of the Louisiana Purchase. As one may expect, being a hunter in the wild frontier is no easy task. After an ambush from a Native American tribe, less than half of the men are able to escape with their lives. The peril worsens for Glass, though, as he later stumbles upon a grizzly bear and is nearly mauled to death.

After the group of remaining men find Glass, they assume the worst, and the captain, Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson), asks for volunteers to temporarily stay behind and stay by Glass’ side until his death. Of course, extra pay is involved, and John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) takes advantage of the opportunity. Two others (including Glass’ Native American son) volunteer as well, though they do not have a murder plan up their sleeves like Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald, who appears to not be very fond of Glass, begins to grow impatient and decides to take matters into his own hands by attempting to murder Glass and betray his fellow men. After lying to the other volunteers, the truth behind Fitzgerald’s evil deed leads to an uprising amongst the two men which leads him to killing Glass’ son. Fitzgerald believes that his crimes are covered up, but little does he know that he is just a step away from being avenged.

“The Revenant” is a powerful and brutal film. Yet director Alejandro G. Iñárritu does an excellent job at telling a harsh story amidst the wondrous beauty of God’s creation. Unfortunately, no credit is given to the Creator in this film (more on that later). Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy deliver fantastic performances along with the excellent character development.

Running at over 2½ hours, “The Revenant” is an uneasy film to watch. But the pacing is so well executed, one may not care about its long run time. The film contains a very tight script, an emotional and intense musical score, and beautiful (as always) cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki. “The Revenant” was shot nearly with all natural light, and the entire crew did a stellar job at making this film appear completely natural. This film is a great step up from Iñárritu’s 2014 Oscar winning film “Birdman,” especially when it comes to the emotional, solid storytelling.

“The Revenant” may be one of the best films of the year, but it is also a film filled with strong, bloody violence, obscene and profane language, and a scene of sexual assault.

The sexual content is limited to two scenes and is brief, but still very disturbing. Bloody corpses are seen naked from behind, as they are dragged across the snow covered ground. One naked man is seen from a far distance (frontal nudity) after he gets hit with an arrow and falls to the ground. Also, a Native American woman is captured, humiliated, and raped by a hunter. There is no nudity, but graphic sexual movements are seen, as we see the pain in the woman’s eyes.

The film is also realistically bloody and violent. The film opens with an intense battle scene between the hunters and the Native Americans. There is loads of bloodshed and characters are graphically shot with both bullets and arrows from head to toe, in addition to getting trampled, stabbed, impaled, and scalped.

As mentioned above, Glass gets mauled by a grizzly bear in an intense, prolonged bloody sequence. He nearly gets his throat ripped out as the bear tears away at his flesh. We see most of his bloody body throughout the film, as he is covered from head to toe in wounds. The bear gets stabbed and shot as well. Glass is later seen trying to mend his wounds by using gun powder, graphically burning himself in the process.

In addition to the bear, other animals are harmed, too, including a horse being shot in the head and another flying off a cliff with a human, ending in bloody results. The same character later uses the carcass as a means of warmth, and we see him digging the intestines out of the deceased animal. We see him curl himself up inside of it.

Bison are attacked by wolves. There are also plenty of additional scenes of intense gun and knife play, including graphic shots to the chest and characters getting stabbed from head to toe. Another character appears to be scalped. The bloodshed is near continuous in this 2½ hour feature.

The language is also very strong, as the script is marred with at least fifteen or so f-words (Editor’s Note: That word did not exist in this time period.), a dozen plus s-words, and a single use of the n-word. Other milder profanities are used dozens of times including d**n, h*ll, p*ss, b**ch, and a**. Both God’s (mostly paired with d**n) and Jesus’ names are abused over a dozen plus times combined, and a crude reference is made to cutting off a man’s genitals.

Hard liquor is consumed, as we see drunken men appear on-screen on a few occasions. Other notes of caution include characters consuming raw, bloodied animal meat, vomiting, and the mistreatment of Native Americans. Gambling may also be observed in the background of a scene or two.

Although “The Revenant” is a bloody and profane film, there is a moral root behind its graphic story. The film does not make any nods toward religion, but a character does begin to say the Lord’s Prayer, and God is acknowledged by a couple of characters. A man also has a form of a heavenly vision on a couple of occasions. One character says to another, while pointing a gun at him, “I ought to be like God to you. God giveth, and God taketh away.” He may be disrespecting God, but this is a reference to Job 1:21 which reads “…The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord” (ESV). The main moral root to this particular story, though, is the questioning of revenge. One character says that “Revenge is in the Creator’s hands.” Later on in the film, a character does just that during a bloody fight and acknowledges that revenge belongs to God, not to himself. Though, he does not realize it until after the damage has already been done.

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” —Romans 12:19

“The Revenant” is a revenge tale that acknowledges morality (to a degree) and spirituality, although this may be questionable, especially since its title relates to a ghost or an animated spirit wreaking havoc among the living. The Native American’s spirituality is also slightly concerning in the film. Justice does ultimately prevail in this long epic, and strong perseverance is on display from not only Glass, but from other men in his group. War isn’t pretty, and “The Revenant” does not shy away from graphic detail of this or living in the wild. The sinful nature of man plays a huge role in the film, and the message of “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) is somewhat acknowledged by one of the main characters, as he leaves his revenge in God’s hands, realizing that he himself is also a sinful human being.

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” —Romans 5:12

This message could be clearer in the film, though, as most audiences will not be looking for a strong moral meaning and message in this revenge tale. It also plays as a cautionary tale to a degree, as well. The words of Jesus come to mind from Matthew 5:38, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth…’” But we need to keep in mind, as the film suggests, that all vengeance belongs to God. We need to repent of our sins before it is too late and realize that only God forgives through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. We just have to be open, confess our sins, proclaim Him as our Savior, and let Him into our hearts. This may be a far-fetched message for Hollywood to share, but as a follower of Christ, myself, I personally had an eye opening experience as I viewed this story about man’s sinful nature and contemplated its deep themes of revenge and justice. Although “The Revenant” contains some themes that may lead to a great discussion, I strongly recommend all audiences take a pass on this film, due to its depictions of graphic violence, strong language, and moments of disturbing sexual content.

“You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.” —James 4:2

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Heavy

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