Here's our first look at Alejandro González Iñárritu's The Revenant, the Mexican helmer's follow-up to the beloved Oscar winner Birdman, and as someone who has always had issues with Iñárritu's overbearing sense of faith and artistic aggrandizement, I must say I'm thrilled by most of what's showcased here. Set in the early 19th century, the story centers on a hunter, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is left for dead by his compatriots following a bear mauling, which we see a brief glimpse of towards the end of the trailer. Tom Hardy's John Fitzgerald would be the first man that Glass wants to capture, and Hardy is the only other clearly identifiable actor seen in the trailer, despite Domnhall Gleeson, Will Poulter, and Lukas Haas also co-starring.
The most immediate element of the trailer is the work of the great cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, whose wild-eyed, liberated camera work was the most remarkable part of Birdman to this reviewer. The director seems to be going for an experiential perspective, as the trailer plunges us into a series of gun battles, hand-to-hand combats, chases through woods and streams, and eerie moments of self-reflection. The first influences that came to mind were Monte Hellman's psychedelic Westerns, though there's a sense that Iñárritu wants us to get as convincingly realistic in the snow-drenched elements as possible, even if the look of the film suggests transcendence. Regardless, it's certainly the most instantly fascinating trailer that's been produced from an Iñárritu film since 21 Grams, which also happened to be the last time I truly enjoyed one of his films.
Check out the trailer below:
Here's the official synopsis for The Revenant from 20th Century Fox:
Deep in the uncharted American wilderness, hunter Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is severely injured and left for dead by a traitorous member of his team, John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). With sheer will as his only weapon, Glass must navigate a hostile environment, a brutal winter, and warring Native American tribes in relentless quest to survive and exact vengeance on Fitzgerald.
