Will Leo Finally Win?

Rating: 8/10 (16 January 2016)

A frontiersman (Leonardo DiCaprio) on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.
The story of Hugh Glass has gone through a number of revisions in the last two hundred years. There is first of all the true story, which could never be known -- Glass himself likely embellished or mis-remembered certain details. We then have various biographies, a novel, and an earlier film "Man in the Wilderness" (1971). Surprisingly, the latter has never had a home video release. This seems like the optimal time to cash in. But that is neither here nor there.
In this latest version, Glass has a son, which increases the emotional factor. Is it historically accurate? No. But we should not allow the facts to get in the way of a good story.
With the Academy Award nominations out, "The Revenant" has become the film to beat in a variety of categories. With twelve nominations, it is certain to win a few. And the big buzz is that this is the year that Leonardo DiCaprio will take home his first statuette.
DiCaprio has been in the acting game for about thirty years and has had countless memorable roles. Some are more serious than others, but he has always done a fine job, even if the films did not call for such professionalism. And as Hugh Glass, this is no doubt the finest performance of his career. Through much of the film, he is left unable to speak and his acting must come out non-verbally, which is considerably more challenging. But winning the award is not supposed to be about an individual actor's best role, but about the best role of the year. Even by those standards, the odds look good. Eddie Redmayne and Bryan Cranston are formidable, and Michael Fassbender is a potential winner (even if he looks nothing like Steve Jobs). But did anyone throw themselves in a role as deep as DiCaprio? Probably not.
Tom Hardy, who plays the antagonist, is up for a supporting actor award. By all means, he deserves it. His devilish Fitzgerald is every bit as good as DiCaprio's Glass, and in some ways even more fun to watch. He is a morally reprehensible monster. But the competition in this category is a bit steeper because of a very unlikely opponent: Sylvester Stallone. Few people would consider Stallone a great actor, but he is getting many accolades for "Creed". He also has another factor on his side: the subjectivity of Oscar voting. The voters will often vote less on the individual roles and sometimes on an actor's career, especially later in their life. This could be Stallone's chance at a lifetime achievement Oscar. So, hardy deserves to win, but he is not guaranteed by any means.
There are a handful of nominations in makeup, costume and production which could get a win. One of the strongest aspects of the film, though, is Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography. This is a tough category, because you have the incredible Roger Deakins and a bold 70mm look on "Hateful Eight". But Lubezki is right now the man to beat. He has eight nominations to his credit, and has won the last two years (for "Gravity" and "Birdman"). And, frankly, this might be his best work yet. There are some long fight scenes that are reminiscent of Seamus McGarvey's work in "Atonement" (2007). Could Lubezki win three years in a row? Could be.
All that praise aside, there is one category that the nomination was quite wrong: Best Visual Effects. The film has a notorious bear-mauling scene. And while the effects are quite good, there is never any doubt that the bear is a computer simulation. A very nice one, but still fake just the same. And that may take the audience out of the movie a bit, as this otherwise excellent look at the wilderness has a very modern image of a bear transposed in it... This award may end up going to "Star Wars" regardless, as it tends to be the category for awarding movies otherwise not considered Oscar-worthy.
In short: is this DiCaprio's best role? Yes. Also possibly Tom Hardy's best role. And some excellent cinematography. Movie of the year? Perhaps, or perhaps not.