An endurance test like no other, compelling beauty vs brutality!

Rating: 8/10 (26 January 2016)

Sit back, take a deep breath and brace yourself for a 2 and a half hour journey of the most gritty intense survival scenes you will ever witness this year! Nature truly is a beast! The Revanant is another visual masterpiece from the masterminds who brought us Birdman: Lubezki and Inarritu. However this time they have moved on from black comedy to give us a more realistic and bleak approach to a true story that depicts the survival instincts of Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) a 19th century Fur trapper and Frontiersman.
The one shot technique that made Birdman so unique is used sparingly in The Revenant but to even greater effect, namely the opening attack scene which is one of the most jaw dropping action scenes I have ever witnessed in cinema. You cannot help but be impressed no matter how pretentious you may have found the technique in Birdman. The sound and visuals literally bring you right into the action depicted on screen. You feel every arrow, shot and scream happening around you resulting in a fuelled, thrilling and dare I say claustrophobic sensation.
The Revenant contains some very long drawn out scenes designed to give the viewer a mesmerising (if a little uncomfortable) watch at times. The biggest example being the bear attack scene in which I was clenching my teeth throughout! You could be forgiven for believing they used a real bear at times as the use of CGI is incredible and is nurtured in impeccable detail from it's movement and behaviour though to the interaction with the Character.
The acting is undeniably Oscar worthy from both Dicaprio and Hardy. Dicaprio had the opportunity in this to act his absolute socks off, we literally feel every bone crunching movement and lung shattering breath that emerges from him after the onslaught which is hard to take at times. Surely he's gone through enough to finally earn himself that elusive Oscar that annually denies him but we'll have to wait and see! Hardy as usual gives what always seems like an effortless natural performance as Fitzgerald. He has one of those rare talents that goes beyond acting and simply just 'becomes' his character like DeNiro used to do in his younger years (before the joy of 'Grudge Match' and 'Dirty Granpa!' haha) Like his portrayal of Bane you can't understand half the words coming out of his mouth but it doesn't seem to matter, you know it's good! ;)
Beyond the intense brutality and dark tonal qualities of the film however lies a layer of immense beauty. The cinematography of Lubezki is overwhelmingly gorgeous and illustrates the natural surroundings in all it's glory giving an almost hypnotic feel to the film, one that is more than welcome to the viewer.
However, in all it's visual beauty and intense action scenes the story and screenplay leaves a little more to be desired and this is where I believe the movie falls short. The taglines and discussions will have you believe this is a great revenge story and they wouldn't be entirely wrong, however the revenge plot feels a little forced (possibly to give the main character even more motivation for his actions) and the relationship with his native son lacks emotion. The real emotion of the film comes from Glass' willingness to survive under the harshest of circumstances and his relationships with some of the Ankara natives he interacts with along the way. Sadly there is not enough screen time between him and his son to draw up a real bond for the viewer to care about and it's this problem that lets down the last 20mins of the film no matter how intense Inarritu makes them.
Having said that the movie hosts an incredibly haunting soundtrack, GRIPPING visuals and brilliant performances through out to make this movie a must see at the cinema. Some may not have the stomach to give it a second viewing but I personally would go see this again. Looking forward to Inarritu's next project. :)