The Revenant (2015)

The Revenant

Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Written by Mark L. Smith and Alejandro G. Iñárritu,

based in part on the novel by Michael Punke

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter

What gives us the will to survive?

Most of us—Most people in the modern world have not needed to resort to very much in order to survive. We have been born into a world where a society has already been built for us and we need just minimal instincts to stay alive.

But what happens when you take that all away? How many of us would last?

In Alejandro Iñárritu’s follow up to his ground breaking and Oscar Winning “Birdman”, a film rich in thematic elements, both emotional and psychological, he breaks that all down and opts to showcase only one. The will to survive. “The Revenant” tells the story of Hugh Glass, an American Folklore hero who was less of a legend that one might think.

The internet has an annoying around of trailer reviews for this

and this was the only one I could find....

The scale of this film is so incredibly large, that I am literally struggling to find the words to describe it. While viewing the film in it’s entirety, it’s impossible to tell that the production was delayed so often. It flows seamlessly from one scene to the other thanks to the actors and the beautiful cinematography of Emmanuel Lebezki.

It’s easy to see that this film was shot with no artificial lighting. Each and every shot feels real and unaltered and showcases the beauty that can be created just in nature. I have never felt so strongly that a film should win an award for the cinematography category as much as I do for this one. I will be truly upset if anything, including “The Hateful 8” wins.

Unfortunately for DiCaprio, Tom Hardy outshines the internet favorite in their performances. While Leo’s role was obviously more physically taxing, the transformation of Tom Hardy to play Fitzgerald was complete down to every single nuance and pronunciation of dialogue.

It really is impossible for me to find anymore words without sounding more uneducated than I already do. In the end, it is a film that everyone has to see for themselves. Will everyone like it? I’m not sure. It’s 2 hours and 40 minutes running time doesn’t help it’s case for the casual moviegoer. But for me, it felt as though it went by in an instant. I was in awe from beginning to end with it’s intensity and un apologetic brutality.

Go and see it for yourself.

My Rating: 9/10