10 Marker question on The Revenant movie poster:

The Revenant poster is clearly supposed to inform us of the release date of a new film which will entertain people by telling a serious story. From the poster, I would think that the target audience would be older people and those who like dramas or real stories as this is what the story looks like it will be.
There is a release date in the bottom right corner telling us it will be released on the 8 January. The majority of the poster is whites and greys. The date has been made to stand out by using a dark red for the font. The contrast in colour draws our attention to the release date. It also seems like a suitable release time as it is a winter date and this is clearly a story set in the winter as we can see lots of snow in the background.
The serious tone of the film is given in the title of the film. It is called ‘The Revenant’ which literally means someone who returns from the dead. This suggests that the narrative will be about someone who was believed to be dead coming back to do something. This would fit with Todorov’s theory of things becoming unbalanced then righting themselves by the end of the story.
The seriousness of the subject matter is also exemplified in the title font. The bottom half of the poster is near-black and the font is white. They may have chosen this because ghosts are white and this is someone coming back from the dead – like a ghost. Also the font is in capital letters making it seem sterner.
The tag line is similarly serious-looking with the same font being used. It says ‘blood lost. Life found.’ This again suggests that there is a problem in the film to be resolved, someone may have been betrayed or had someone taken from them. The ‘Life found’ suggests that things right themselves in the end. It gives the poster a high drama feel and again shows that a more mature and serious audience would find this appealing as the story is more realistic.
The poster also tells us that the story was ‘inspired by true events’. The font size here is the same as the tag line which gives it equal weight with the tag-line. The marketers think it is important that you know this is based on a real story. Again this might make it more appealing to those who like dramas as now they know the narrative is something that actually happened. This gives the storyline a greater intensity as we now know that what we will watch actually happened to someone.
Representation of the main character is also given. We can assume that this is ‘the revenant’. We see a man in extreme close-up against an extreme wintery background. The man has an intense look in his eye suggesting he is set on a task – perhaps to fix the betrayal that killed him? This also brings in the enigma code as we wonder what has happened to him? Who has killed him and what must he fix? He also has bruises which tells us he has been hurt and the ice in his beard suggests he has been in the wilderness for quite some time. Furthermore there is strange series of red lines on the top left side. This looks like shooting fire embers or veins. This could suggest a winter fire for warmth or be a metaphor for the fire for vengeance inside the revenant. If it supposed to be veins then it would represent his return to life. Again all of this suggests that this is a serious protagonist with a set cause. This would all appeal to the target audience as it has clearly established a feel of drama and purpose.
A final point to make about the poster is the names included along the top. The actors Leonardo Di Caprio and Tom Hardy are listed. Di Caprio is the character in the poster. He is playing the protagonist. We can assume that Tom Hardy will also be a main character either as the enemy that Di Caprio fights or as a helper in Di Caprio’s cause. These are two massive actors who are famous for their good looks making them appeal to a predominantly female audience and they have gained acclaim for acting in serious roles and action roles. This would make the film appeal to a wide audience as we know that the film will be a strong serious piece as these are men who take their acting roles seriously.