20th Century Fox recently dropped a full trailer for The Revenant, a film based off of the adventures of explorer Hugh Glass.
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The trailer, which you can view above, features many important twists, telling how Alejandro González Iñárritu’s screenplay will differ from Michael Punke’s novel.
First off, it’s interesting to note how Iñárritu’s directorial style and focus on symbolism is going to be seen in The Revenant. In the novel, Punke often focuses on Glass’s mental and physical state, as well as how the monstrous winter conditions constantly ravage against Glass’s journey. However, with the addition of Glass’s son, who he does not have in the novel, the screenplay and film looks to focus on a different tale of revenge. The novel features an interesting Hugh Glass. He’s a man who is fascinated with the wilderness, the unknown, and travel. He has learned to live off the land during his time with the Sioux, but he lives a life absent of personal connections and relationships. However, if he has a family, such as a wife and a son, it makes his tale and trek of revenge more conventional than what is featured in the novel.
Personally, the addition seems unnecessary, as well as untrue to the character. Glass was a man of the American frontier during a time when it was considered an honor to go out into the unknown and consume the spirit of manifest destiny. Glass’s tale and adventures, as described in Punke’s novel of the same name, are exciting. He goes from being a cartographer to a pirate to a member of a local Native American tribe, all before setting off on his ill fated trip north. However, Iñárritu’s writing has been very well received for years now, and he may be at the top of his game. If he sees this change necessary, then it helps me better believe the story and slight deviation.
The next important thing of note is that we finally get a good look at Tom Hardy’s Fitzgerald, Will Poulter’s Bridger, and Domnhall Gleeson’s Captain Henry. They look very faithful to their respective characters. Hardy especially looks to capture the grizzled look of Fitzgerald. The character is very similar to nature of the snowy mountaintops itself; unpredictable, violent, but cunning. Poulter’s Bridger seems just as terrified, but the film looks to be very different than the book, since they kill Glass’s son. Does Bridger kill him? Do the men even kill the son, or does he die somehow else? This pivotal scene seems more and more exciting the more I watch the trailer.
I’m very curious how the character of Captain Henry is going to be written in the film. The character has a very minor role in the book, at least in the beginning, but the press release, as well as Wikipedia page for The Revenant states that DiCaprio’s character is going after Gleeson as well. Does Henry have more to do with the murder of Glass’s son? Or does Glass snap at some point in the film?
Finally, the most important part of the film’s much longer trailer establishes Glass. He is a folk tale hero, one of the few American legends whose tales revolve around the American frontier, as he symbolizes the fascination of 19th century manifest destiny. DiCaprio’s portrayal of the fur trapper will be the first major portrayal of the character, and it’s set to be an exciting affair.
The Revenant is out in theaters this December. For all your news on The Revenant, as well as other hit films due out this fall, stay tuned to The Nerd Stash.
