The Revenant

Hugh Glass: As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. You breathe. Keep breathing.

In Alejandro G. Iñárritu's latest film, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a highly fictionalized version of frontiersman Hugh Glass as he seeks revenge for being left for dead after a bear attack. On a fur trading expedition, Glass is viciously mauled by a bear, leaving him with a broken leg and numerous flesh wounds. While recovering, Glass witnesses his half-Pawnee son's murder at the hands of Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), one of the men left behind to care for him. Fitzgerald and Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) leave him for dead in a shallow grave and, after clawing his way out, he sets off on a harrowing journey that pits him against both the wilderness and hostile groups in order the exact vengeance for his son.

This film is intense to say the least and Iñárritu's portrayal of life in the American frontier is unflinching in its brutality. Early on, we see an attack by a Arikara war band that manages to convey both the perilous nature of fur trading and the terrifying reality of guerrilla warfare at the time. The bear attack is disconcertingly realistic and the survival techniques Glass relies on are horrifyingly gruesome. Through it all DiCaprio's performance brings to life both Glass's dire predicament and the true loss he experiences in his family's death. We are frequently reminded of the strength of trees in the face of the wind and the imagery of the forest throughout the film are beautiful reminders of that. The lingering shots and natural lighting help reinforce the overall style and is truly one of the highlights of the film.

But in general, the film is overly sentimental to me. It's easy to sympathize with a man with a murdered wife and son and who appreciates the wisdom of the Pawnee. It's a lot harder the sympathize with the real life Glass, who sought revenge only for himself and the recovery of his rifle. As it is, we see a man settled in his wisdom who gains no new revelations through the experience. He is written as a man modern Americans' want their frontiersmen to be rather than how they really were which is probably closer to Fitzgerald and Bridger. The orchestral parts of the score are haunting but overdone and surprisingly European for the story. The flashbacks of his wife felt emotionally manipulative and could have been accomplished in a much more subtle manner. And all of this lead to the film feeling too long.

The Revenant is unremittingly depressing and gruesome and is not for the faint of heart, but is a wonderful representation of life on the American frontier. It shows the complex relationships amongst the diverse groups of settlers and Native Americans as well as the harsh conditions they faced in the wild. But the heavily revised depiction of Hugh Glass feels like it's pandering to the audience and its heavy-handed sentiment undercuts the strength of DiCaprio's performance. I would recommend this to those interested in the time period or in completing their Oscar scorecard.

Mary & Max

Max: The reason I forgive you is because you are not perfect. You are imperfect. And so am I. All humans are imperfect.

Adam Elliot's Mary & Max is one of my favorite movies although it's difficult to explain why to someone who has not seen it. It's the story of a lonely Australian girl named Mary (voiced by Bethany Whitmore and later Toni Collette) who becomes pen pals with a middle aged New Yorker with Asperger syndrome named Max (Philip Seymour Hoffman). They live in bleak worlds of sepia and black and white. And while Mary is neglected by her parents and picked on at school, Max is misunderstood by everyone but possibly his therapist. But through their letters, they form an unlikely friendship that endures through their happiest and saddest moments and changes their understanding of the world and themselves.

Although this is a claymation movie, it is not meant for children. It's a black comedy that presents characters through their flaws rather than their strengths. But we love them for their flaws because it's their imperfections that make them human. Mary has mud colored eyes with a birthmark on her forehead and she desperately wants to be beautiful. Max's three goals in life are a complete collection of Noblet figurines, a lifetime supply of chocolate and a non-imaginary friend, but but he finds people confusing. Each struggles with their own insecurities and difficulties but each also unconditionally loves the other, warts and all.

The film is not flashy with larger-than-life characters or an outlandish plot. It's simply the stuff of which life is made, but it's made by someone who clearly loves people not in spite of their imperfections, but because of them. At some point in our lives, we have all known a Mary or a Max. Some of us have even been them. But at one point, Max gives Mary a candy heart that reads, "Love yourself first." We can find strength in friendship but in the end, we will still smell like licorice and old books or have mud colored eyes. We need to find not just the value in those around us but also the value in ourselves, even if it means looking at ourselves through someone else's eyes.

Mary & Max is a tribute to everyone who have never quite fit it. It pokes fun at our foibles without malice and shows the worth each person no matter how eccentric. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Chef

Carl Casper: I may bot do everything great in my life, but I'm good at this. I manage to touch people's lives with what I do and I want to share this with you.

Chef is a movie that continually baffles me. I had it recommended to me by several diverse sources before I finally watched it and over a year later I still hear people talking about it or listening to the admittedly great soundtrack. But I have have a difficult time understanding its popularity. It's a simple story. After an accidental Twitter war with a food critic (Oliver Platt) who gave him a bad review, chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) quits his job to start a food truck with his sous chef (John Leguizamo) and his son (Emjay Anthony). The cast is impressive. The photography is beautiful. The soundtrack is festive.

Then what's the problem? Well, once they're on the road, the conflict stops. There's no more arguments with the food critics, no familial strife over custody or shoddy parenting, no financial woes with the business, nothing. Everything's roses from then on out. So how is a movie with half a plot so popular across so many different groups of people? There's something about it that speaks to us as people. We see characters we like with all of the flaws and foibles we see in ourselves. We see men being men, people living their dreams, a father teaching his son and a son helping his father. We see people struggle with and overcome the social media with which our lives are so entangled. And in the war over our food, we see our simple, local cuisine triumph over the overpriced, inaccessible food of the wealthy.

This is a movie that will want to make you want to celebrate the simple joys of life, family and food while eating the best damn grilled cheese sandwich of your life. Just be prepared that the only twist in this movie is when it suddenly ends.