A beautifully constructed yet slightly imperfect achievement!

Rating: 9/10 (12 December 2016)

I find a large amount of awe when it comes to the career of Leonardo DiCaprio. I cannot think of a film hr has been in which could be considered terrible. He has consistently proved that his ability to act is stellar whatever he may be. Whether that be a corrupted stockbroker, a man on the run from the FBI or even an undercover cop, Leo can surely do an unprecedented amount of good! Today, I want to focus on one of his latest works. In which he plays folk legend Hugh Glass; who has a taste for revenge. I'm talking about his Academy Award role in "The Revenant". This masterfully constructed film comes from 3-time Oscar winner Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, who most people will know him for his work on Birdman (Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and Babel. His film the previous year stole 4 of the big awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Writing (all of which I believe should have gone to Grand Budapest Hotel but that is beside the point. I want to start with my dislikes, because it's always best to get the negatives out of the way in order to have the good stuff in the end. OK, even as a casual watcher when I watched it for the 4th time, I began to see some continuity issues, believe me, these are tiny issues but they are things I have picked up on since I have begun studying film. But for a person who only watched to enjoy, then this will go completely unnoticed. I also find some scenes to be completely unnecessary, although I won't go into what those scenes are, if you have watched it or plan to watch it, then you will understand the scenes I'm talking about. Now, let's get into the good stuff, probably the best part about this film is the use of lighting. Every single shot has been created with natural lighting, which gives the film a beautifully striking yet slightly dull colour pallet. Bright whites, dark blues/purples and thick blacks give the film a visually striking and gorgeous look. It also doesn't hurt that the cinematography is stunning as well. Every shot is beautiful and has been thought about in great detail, the open plains, deep forests and soaring mountain ranges of North America truly are a spectacle. And this all comes from Oscar winner Emmanuel Lubezki, who is also known for his work on both Birdman as well as Children of men. Let's take a look at performances. I cannot start to talk about the performances in The Revenant without mentioning my thoughts on 2015's Best Actor winner. I personally believe that year, Bryan Cranston's portrayal of Dalton Trumbo blew the competition away. Despite my thoughts on who I believe should have won, I still think Leo is spectacular in this film, Leo has most definitely set the bat for acing in this type of film genre. A leading actor cannot be amazing without an excellent supporting actor, and Tom Hardy secures that place masterfully. Once again, I did not agree with Mark Rylance Oscar steal in 2015, despite it not being an awful performance. Mark may have taken the award, but Tom deserved it even more than he did, his character is distasteful and sinister, and Tom captures this essence beautifully; it truly is an unforgettable performance. I would overall give this film a 9/10, it is by no means perfect, but what is here is so interesting and engaging, the flaws die down in the grand scheme of the overall film.