DiCaprio's gritty performance and Iñárritu's incredible vision are at the helm in this story of survival.

Rating: 9/10 (10 January 2016)

The Revenant is a story of survival at it's finest, showcasing the brutality of human nature in life or death situations. This is not a film for the faint of heart as director Alejandro G. Iñárritu takes this violent and unforgiving story head on and doesn't let up until the end credits roll. That's not to say this film doesn't have it's subtle moments. There's plenty of time to catch your breath and take in the beauty that surrounds the darkness. However, every time things look up for the story and our characters, the ground crumbles at their feet causing everything to come crashing back down.
The film follows Hugh Glass, a frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the early 1800s. After an incredible opening battle sequence, the story takes off when Glass is brutally attacked by a grizzly bear while out on the hunt. One of the most realistically violent and jaw dropping scenes in recent memory, this attack sets in motion a series of events that cause great pain and anguish for the character, striking relentlessly at his spirit and will to survive. In arguably his best performance to date, Leonardo DiCaprio was the perfect actor to portray the character in all of his pain, loss and misery. His performance was so gritty and realistic that it was hard to watch at times giving the illusion that these things were really happening to a real human being. Combine that with the brilliant cinematography of Emmanuel "Chivo" Lubezki and you get an unforgettable experience rarely achieved in cinema.
Throughout the film, you experience Glass' hardships hand in hand, feeling his pain. None of this made easier by Tom Hardy's John Fitzgerald. Hardy plays the villain to perfection as Fitzgerald jumps on a chance to collect a payday by looking after the injured Glass. None too excited about sitting around in the freezing cold watching a man slowly die, he takes matters into his own hands to speed up the process. Using the phantom threat of hostile Native Americans to scare his partner Bridger (Will Poulter) into fleeing, the two of them leave Glass for dead and rejoin their group. This leaves Glass to overcome his dire situation on his own and face the unforgiving forces of nature that surround him. DiCaprio's performance and Iñárritu's vision are at the helm for the duration of the film and are also what will stay with you long after the experience is over.
9/10