Not your average bear

Rating: 9/10 (17 February 2016)

One has to respect Leonardo DiCaprio, whose career could have gone the way of Ryan Reynolds or Mathew McConaughey--since repented-- cashing in on his boyish looks with hollow romantic-comedies for half-wits. Instead, he chooses to work with Spielberg, Mann, Mendes, Nolan, Tarantino, and, of course, Scorsese--narrowing in on challenging, often unlikable characters.
In an astounding turn-around from last year's "Birdman," Alejandro Inarritu takes a by-the-numbers folk song about one man's thirst for revenge and strips it naked of all barroom romanticism. With "The Revenant," he holds up his thumb to unrelenting nature, sees the beauty within and begins the shaping process.
The film's first victory was the decision to shoot on-location, with natural light. While the concept might seem somewhat pretentious at first--considering the luxuries computers afford--it pays off, creating one of the more immersive film experiences in recent memory--and no 3D, what do you know? No matter how advanced computer generation becomes, you can't beat the real thing--that works with movies, Coca-Cola and nearly everything else.
I'm normally not a huge proponent for realism in films--I already know it's fake, so just have fun with it--but "The Revenant" is the rare case where I can't imagine the film any other way. Perhaps, it's because much of it isn't fake. Or perhaps, it's because the story is so naturally thin, and the realism puts a magnifying glass to the cinematic fine print--delicate human moments--that would otherwise go unnoticed. Yes, I think that's it.
The action sequences--and they are that--are leagues above anything seen in any superhero film, placing the audience amongst the gun- smoke, zipping arrows and the horses who move like heavy machinery. No better is this accomplishment signified than the already notorious "bear scene," in which Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) is eviscerated by a grizzly. The scene is unrelenting in its brutality, the bear acting as the physical manifestation of cruel Nature, and Glass as helpless Man, always on the defensive. And unlike most blockbuster films, the action has purpose and repercussions; it doesn't feel like a child playing nonsensically with his toys--not that I don't occasionally enjoy such a thing.
One would be remiss to fail to mention DiCaprio's performance as Glass--if ever there was a man less suited to his name. He's the kind of actor who never goes for the admirable base hit, but spits in both hands and points to the rafters each and every time; here is no different. He's as raw and inexorable as the film itself. Same goes for Tom Hardy, the villain of the piece, a man so detestable, the Indian who scalped him changed his mind half-way through. The character had be worried for a bit, as he comes off a tad mustache- twirling, but he rounds out in the end.
"The Revenant," is a film that unfolds rather than unveils; that reveals rather than relates; a film of driving, raw emotion.