Simple But Captivating

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2016)

I personally found the film, like it says in the summary, simple. Anyone who's seen the trailer or read the plot of the film will get exactly just that -- a film about survival. It's survival to its core, and I've personally never seen a film that captures this more realistically. It's real, it's brutal, and in some cases, just downright frightening. The use of natural lighting does not disappoint, and it really is a beautifully shot film. I found myself captivated by every scene, and the actors (especially Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy) did a wonderful job of portraying their characters.
But besides all that, the film really is simple, all terms aside. There really isn't much of another story going besides the one mentioned in the plot, and the side story that is there isn't as interesting as the main conflict of the film. The scenes that lead up to the main character's quest for survival is emotional and interesting in itself, and although there were bits and pieces of it mentioned throughout the rest of the film, I personally found that it didn't play much of a part as the essence of the film or main character's motivation as it could (or should) have.
I highly recommend this film to anyone who appreciates the art of cinematography as I do, but anyone who's looking for an incredibly complex film with layers of stories such as Inception (also starring Leonardo DiCaprio), you might find yourself disappointed.