It is not easy to describe a movie that has left both the critics and the audience in awe, for what has been termed as Leonardo DiCaprio’s best performance to date, has left little to criticize. How does one even begin to do justice to the portrayal of the terrifying true story of Hugh Glass that Leonardo has so impeccably portrayed? True to its meaning, The Revenant without doubt is one of the most epic films of perhaps even the decade; a film that does not need to dramatize events for its enthralling survival peregrination of one man has elicited an astounding emotional response with film enthusiasts everywhere. Winner of 3 Golden Globes and having 12 nominations for the 2016 Academy Awards including Best Actor, The Revenant is a grueling masterpiece of one man’s survival that has deservingly earned high acclaims from several film critics, but be warned it is not for the faint of heart.
In a gut wrenching 156 minutes of screen time, DiCaprio portrays the miraculous tale of 19th century bear trapper Hugh Glass who while on a hunting expedition in the Missouri River was ferociously mauled by a grizzly bear and then left as dead by his fellow fur trappers. While DiCaprio no doubt offered a stellar performance, Tom Hardy as Fitzgerald has splendidly pulled off playing a murderous character where he not only attempts to murder Glass but also persuades a much younger expedition member to abandon Glass if he values his own safety. What follows next is Glass’s sheer determination to survive, find his way back to his fellow fur trappers somehow in order to exact revenge on Fitzgerald who also mercilessly stabbed Glass’s half Pawnee son-Hawk- in front of Glass.
In an age where it is increasingly becoming rare that an actor commits to their role to such an extent that the distinction between them playing a movie role and literally living that role has been substantially blurred, DiCaprio together with director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, are not one to shy away from adversity from a film’s point of view and instead embraced the harsh conditions such as filming scenes in incredibly freezing temperatures as low as -25.C,DiCaprio sleeping in animal carcasses and eating raw bison liver!Moreover, Iñárritu’s pairing up with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki proved a visionary delight for the audience, for the filming locations of Argentina and Canada resulted in a refreshing change whereby the audience got to witness the cast being one with nature in its entirety instead of merely relying on the usage of a green screen.
But while The Revenant is an epic survival odyssey, it is imperative to be wary of the fairly high violence and gore rating it has, which may indeed make those with a faint heart not want to sit through to the entire movie. However for those who are familiar with shows like Game of Thrones, the Vikings and Spartacus, the violent scenes should be a piece of cake to handle. Blood and gore aside, the cinematography needs to be commended upon which includes picturesque landscape shots throughout the film, to Glass’s flashbacks of his wife and his prior travel experiences, to a traumatizing yet seamlessly put scene of the bear attacking Glass and his subsequent struggle to kill it, The Revenant does not fall short of providing the audience with a coherent sequence of both story and cinematography.
What differentiates The Revenant from any other man versus nature encounter is the encapsulating raw talent of DiCaprio that makes even the strongest of hearts; empathize with his character throughout the film. The concept of revenge being in God’s hand is also beautifully portrayed that has kept DiCaprio’s character desperately clinging on to the quest for hope despite being critically injured- so much so that he crawls his way across several miles and his vocal ability being reduced to mere grunts. Even upon encountering Fitzgerald, he ultimately leaves his fate at the hands of the Arikara.
Bagging the top position in the US Box Office as of 2016 with a total grossing of $119.2 million, The Revenant is indeed DiCaprio at his best, and if even this does not get him an Oscar, it is time to seriously rethink the selection criteria. .
Rating: 4.7/5