5. It's Bleak To The Point Of Absurdity...
The relentless suffering experienced by not only the character of Hugh Glass but Leonardo DiCaprio and the rest of the cast and crew is extremely well documented, and is a massive aspect of The Revenant's marketing campaign. It hasn't been exaggerated, either from the moment the film starts to the very last scene, it's just horrifying experience after horrifying experience with very little in the way of relief. From the Native American ambush to the famous grizzly bear scene to the murder of Glass's son, all you can do is stare wide-eyed in terror at what DiCaprio's character suffers. But somewhere along the way it all begins to get a bit absurd, as if crossing from poignant struggle to light torture porn. Not only that, but the film attempts to up the shock value of each subsequent emotional beating, culminating in several sequences it's difficult to take seriously. A prime example takes place when Glass finds his friendly Native American companion Hikuc hanged by French pelt hunters. That's bad enough, but stacking a rape scene on top followed by the horseback chase and ending with Glass careening off a cliff catapults the po-faced look at all this misfortune, isn't it something else tone into almost laughable territory.
Brian Wilson
Contributor
Commonly found reading, sitting firmly in a seat at the cinema (bottle of water and a Freddo bar, please) or listening to the Mountain Goats.
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Brian