Iñárritu has impressed me a second time

Rating: 8/10 (7 February 2016)

When Alejandro González Iñárritu directed Birdman last year, he showed to moviegoers that he was a very talented filmmaker. That movie had so much art in it and it was quite a mind-blowing masterpiece. When I heard that he was directing this movie, it made me wonder: What is he going to do to impress us this time? The trailer for this movie looked amazing so I was very excited to see this movie. My anticipation definitely paid off for this movie and I loved every bit of it.
A frontiersman named Hugh Glass is on a fur-trapping expedition deep in the forests of a territory of the Louisiana Purchase. After he is mauled by a bear, he is left for dead. He barely survives the attack and he sets out on a path of vengeance for the man who left him for dead.
Emmanuel Lubezki is my favorite movie cinematographer. He has shot so many amazing movies and he puts a ton of effort into all of his work. The cinematography in this movie is also very great. The outdoor landscapes are beautiful and majestic to look at. The scenes in the forest and the snowy landscapes are breathtaking as well. Like "Tree of Life", all of the scenes in this film were only shot in natural light. I could definitely see this movie winning an Oscar for Best Cinematography.
Hugh Glass goes through a lot in this movie. He narrowly avoids getting killed by Indians, he is mauled by a bear and suffers from the damages days afterwards, he is forced to watch as someone (I'm not going to spoil and say who) dies while he is unable to help him, he falls off a waterfall in a desperate attempt to escape Indians, a horse he is riding falls off a cliff with him on it in an attempt to escape enemies, and so much more. His character is really beaten up throughout the movie and he has to do a lot of intense things to stay alive. As the viewer, you cannot help but feel sorry for him for all that he went through. This is one of the few movies which doesn't need to provide character development as it is able to provide something which distracts you from it.
The action in this movie is actually pretty impressive. Its use of long takes, expertise cuts and camera angles, and great visuals makes each of them stand out. When I first watched the movie, I was a little worried that it wasn't going to live up to my expectations, but I no longer felt that after the first 15 minutes of the movie. The fighting scene near the beginning was definitely the best one in this film. It did a great job at getting me into the movie. It was very impressive because it used many different camera techniques to make it always feel original from beginning to end. It was a great way to start the film. Also, all of the other action scenes are pretty good as well.
Another big accomplishment in this film was that it depicted the characters, not as villains, but as another species trying to do whatever it takes to survive in the harsh environment. Their decisions and actions in the film aren't really guided on hatred and insecurity as much as they are guided on fearing what will happen to them if they don't do what they do. The final fight in the film gives us another viewpoint on the movie and it makes us speculate if Glass fighting Fitzgerald to the death is really worth it. Most of the violence from the movie comes as a result of self-defense. Even the character that comes closest to feeling like a villain (John Fitzgerald) is driven by fear rather than by hate. Also, the bear attack scene was the most realistic and intense animal attack I've ever seen in a movie and I don't think that it will be outdone for a very long time.
The acting is really great. Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy do great jobs as the 2 main leads. There is actually very little dialogue spoken in the film. For most of the movie, the viewer becomes use to the environment and the viewer experiences what the characters are going through just by their facial expressions. Leonardo DiCaprio barely speaks anything in the entire middle section of the film. However, his performance is great just by his facial expressions. He shows to us how much pain his character is in and he is able to do it so great without saying much lines of dialogue. Hopefully, he finally gets an Oscar this year because that Oscar he has deserved for all of these years is long overdue. There is something about Tom Hardy's performance that I like so much, and I sometimes have a hard time explaining what it is. I feel that it has something to do with how his tone of voice. Every time when he opens his mouth, he always interests me and I become drawn to his performance. Both of them have a pretty good chance at winning an Oscar and I think that they both did the best this year by far.
In conclusion, this movie is a visual masterpiece which has very interesting characters and intelligent action scenes. With all the praise I gave it in this review, it is not perfect because I feel that the middle of it could have had at least 15-20 minutes cut off of it, but that's my only complaint. Make sure you watch this film because you will definitely not be disappointed.