The Revenant
While exploring uncharted wilderness in 1823, legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass sustains injuries from a brutal bear attack. When his hunting team leaves him for dead, Glass must utilize his survival skills to find a way back home while avoiding natives on their own hunt. Grief-stricken and fueled by vengeance, Glass treks through the wintry terrain to track down John Fitzgerald, the former confidant who betrayed and abandoned him.
Despite a significant budget of $135.0M, The Revenant became a solid performer, earning $533.0M worldwide—a 295% return.
3 Oscars. 94 wins & 193 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Revenant (2015) showcases deliberately positioned story structure, characteristic of Alejandro González Iñárritu's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 37 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.7, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Hugh Glass hunts with his son Hawk in the wilderness, living as a frontier guide for fur trappers. He is experienced, respected, and protective of his half-Pawnee son in a world of casual racism and violence.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 18 minutes when Glass is mauled nearly to death by a grizzly bear protecting her cubs. His body is shredded, his throat torn open. The injuries are so severe that the men believe he cannot possibly survive the journey back to the fort.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 39 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to Fitzgerald murders Hawk in front of the helpless Glass, then buries Glass alive and abandons him. Glass, left for dead in a shallow grave, claws his way out. His active choice to survive—driven now by vengeance for his son—propels him into his journey., moving from reaction to action.
At 79 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat Glass finds the Pawnee helper hanged by French trappers. This false defeat reinforces the cruelty of this world and strips away Glass's brief moment of human connection. He is alone again, and the stakes of his journey deepen beyond personal revenge., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 117 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Fitzgerald ambushes and kills Captain Henry, the last figure of authority and justice. Glass is alone in the frozen wilderness with his enemy. The whiff of death: Henry dies, and Glass must face whether revenge alone is worth surviving for., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 125 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Glass confronts Fitzgerald in brutal hand-to-hand combat. At the moment of killing him, Glass remembers his wife's wisdom and chooses to let the Arikara (who arrive pursuing Fitzgerald) take his revenge. He releases vengeance to the higher power of fate., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Revenant's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping The Revenant against these established plot points, we can identify how Alejandro González Iñárritu utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Revenant within the adventure genre.
Alejandro González Iñárritu's Structural Approach
Among the 5 Alejandro González Iñárritu films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 6.8, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. The Revenant takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Alejandro González Iñárritu filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional adventure films include Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, The Bad Guys and Zoom. For more Alejandro González Iñárritu analyses, see Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Amores Perros and 21 Grams.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Hugh Glass hunts with his son Hawk in the wilderness, living as a frontier guide for fur trappers. He is experienced, respected, and protective of his half-Pawnee son in a world of casual racism and violence.
Theme
After the Arikara attack, Fitzgerald states: "I ain't afraid to die anymore. I done it already." The theme of survival, revenge, and what keeps a man alive when death would be easier is introduced through the antagonist.
Worldbuilding
The brutal 1823 American frontier is established. Glass guides Captain Henry's fur trapping expedition through Arikara territory. An Arikara war party attacks the camp, seeking the chief's kidnapped daughter. The survivors escape downriver, losing most of their pelts and men.
Disruption
Glass is mauled nearly to death by a grizzly bear protecting her cubs. His body is shredded, his throat torn open. The injuries are so severe that the men believe he cannot possibly survive the journey back to the fort.
Resistance
Captain Henry offers money for volunteers to stay with Glass until he dies and give him a proper burial. Fitzgerald volunteers for the money, young Bridger out of decency, and Hawk to stay with his father. They carry Glass but he clings to life, defying expectations.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Fitzgerald murders Hawk in front of the helpless Glass, then buries Glass alive and abandons him. Glass, left for dead in a shallow grave, claws his way out. His active choice to survive—driven now by vengeance for his son—propels him into his journey.
Mirror World
Glass encounters a Pawnee wanderer who has been driven from his people. The Pawnee helps Glass, building him shelter and treating his wounds. This relationship represents the thematic counterpoint: human connection and mercy in a merciless world.
Premise
Glass's impossible survival journey. He crawls through snow, cauterizes his throat wound with gunpowder, escapes the Arikara again, is helped by the Pawnee, survives a cliff fall, sleeps inside a horse carcass, and travels hundreds of miles through wilderness driven by revenge.
Midpoint
Glass finds the Pawnee helper hanged by French trappers. This false defeat reinforces the cruelty of this world and strips away Glass's brief moment of human connection. He is alone again, and the stakes of his journey deepen beyond personal revenge.
Opposition
Glass continues toward Fort Kiowa while Fitzgerald's lies unravel. Bridger reveals the truth to Captain Henry. Fitzgerald kills the fort commander and flees with money. Glass finally reaches the fort, and Henry pledges to help him pursue Fitzgerald into the mountains.
Collapse
Fitzgerald ambushes and kills Captain Henry, the last figure of authority and justice. Glass is alone in the frozen wilderness with his enemy. The whiff of death: Henry dies, and Glass must face whether revenge alone is worth surviving for.
Crisis
Glass tracks Fitzgerald through the snow. He remembers his wife's words about survival and breath. The dark night: Glass must confront what he has become and whether killing Fitzgerald will bring peace or just more emptiness.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Glass confronts Fitzgerald in brutal hand-to-hand combat. At the moment of killing him, Glass remembers his wife's wisdom and chooses to let the Arikara (who arrive pursuing Fitzgerald) take his revenge. He releases vengeance to the higher power of fate.
Synthesis
The Arikara kill Fitzgerald. Glass watches, then walks away into the snow. The Arikara chief finds his kidnapped daughter among the corpses and retrieves her. Multiple story threads resolve: revenge, rescue, survival, and the cost of all three.
Transformation
Glass stares directly into the camera, bloodied and alive, as a vision of his dead wife fades. The opening image of the capable guide is transformed: he has survived, but at the cost of everything. He is reborn into a world without his son, without revenge, with only breath.