Everything Just Works the First Trailer for The Revenant

The first official trailer for The Revenant is an enormously satisfying culmination of its many, many parts. A project like this gets announced and made, and you don’t really believe it will deliver on the level that it should. It still may not, but after watching this its hard not to let your imagination spiral into extreme expectation. Here it is:

The things that make this trailer work are many. I have made a list.

1. Director/writer Alejandro González Iñárritu is coming back strong after his Oscar-winning Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), in which Michael Keaton went meta and the ideals of the entertainment industry were torn to shreds, one extended take at a time. The Revenant couldn’t show a more different story, yet Iñárritu’s gift for poignancy seems only more steadfast.
2. The cinematography in the trailer is already stunning. Of course, that’s in large part due to Emmanual Lubezki, who, as cinematographer, has put the visions of Terrence Malick and Alfonso Cuarón so effectively to the screen. Lubezki is the guy who transports you in the film better than anyone else. He did Gravity. He did Birdman. Now he’s doing this.
3. It never seems like Leonardo DiCaprio will fit a role until he finally fits himself into it. Here he overcomes his good looks with a beard and some existential resignation. Whether this is the role that gets him the Oscar is irrelevant. He’s performing like he already has 20.
4. Tom Hardy is in it. Tom Hardy was Mad Max this year. Tom Hardy makes everything better.
5. Rhythmic breathing only works when everything else works. It works here.

Here’s the official description for the film, from Youtube:

“Inspired by true events, THE REVENANT is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience capturing one man’s epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. In a quest to survive, Glass endures unimaginable grief as well as the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Guided by sheer will and the love of his family, Glass must navigate a vicious winter in a relentless pursuit to live and find redemption. THE REVENANT is directed and co-written by renowned filmmaker, Academy Award-winner Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman, Babel).”

The Revenant hits theaters on Jan. 15, 2016.