The Revenant grabs you and never lets go

Rating: 9/10 (10 January 2016)

Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu who brought us the Academy Award winning picture 'Birdman' brings us a powerful film inspired by true events that took place in the l820s in snowy mountains of what is now Montana and North Dakota. The Revenant tells the story of Northern frontiersman Hugh Glass (played by Leonardo Dicaprio) and his tribe under the command of Andrew Henry (played by Domhall Gleeson) who escape their village after devastating attack by the Native American tribe leads to severe casualties. On their expedition towards the east, Glass is viciously attacked by a grizzly bear, and is severely wounded. With his party struggling to aid, the ruthless John Fitzgerald (played by Tom Hardy) and Jim Bridger (played by Will Poulter), under Fitzgerald's orders, rob him and leave him for dead, while Fitzgerald merciless murders his son in fear. Buried alive, Glass awakens from his critical state and embarks on a journey cross-country on a search to hunt down the men who betrayed him.
Alejando Gonzalez Inarritu has some of the most lively styles of filmmaking in recent years, and it really took audiences everywhere by storm with his previous works. This film, sparkling with stunning cinematography, stellar performances, and a fascinating direction; stands a prime example of a director pushing for pure realism. The film opens with the main character and his tribe as their village is suddenly attacked by the Native American militia, and we watch as a number of people are brutally injured and killed. This entire is bloody and quite intense to watch. Nonetheless, what makes these opening ten minutes compelling is the amazing camera-work by Emmanuel Lubezki. It is done in such a fascinating way to where it pulls us right into the action, and the heat of the bloodshed battle can be felt. The biggest attention-grabber however, may the bear attack sequence which is probably the most intense scene in the entire film. Complete with sound editing, this scene consisting of Leonardo Dicaprio viciously fighting off the bear as brutally claws and bites him, is shot in a way to make it painful and cringe-inducing to watch. But the authenticity of the scene is the real gem. Then the film ventures through the main character's journey across the nation which I think is the biggest weakspot of the story due to its slow pacing.
This film stops at nothing to portray pure realism with such solid camera-work, use of natural lighting and the captivating performances by Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hardy. Dicaprio who's character has a short amount of dialogue throughout the runtime, embraces a strong performance through his facial expressions rather than stellar dialogue. Then Tom Hardy is who plays John Fitzgerald who turns against the main character is very mesmerizing in his role. From the beginning the film, he immediately disappears into his character and gives a performance that shines like gold. The performances are what redeems the film from its slow pacing. There is little doubt that the film struggles to sustain its 156 runtime with the its pacing, and at times, can get a little tedious. Nevertheless, the realism of the action and the story can be enough to grab your attention and hold on to it for its entirety.
The Revenant is definitely one of the best films of the year, and demonstrates some of the best performances of this year as well. Leonardo Dicaprio is great what maybe the performance of his career, and just might finally land him his long awaited Oscar. The film is very gripping, very realistic, and something everyone should look into.