Brilliant but flawed

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2016)

Trapper and guide, Hugh Glass, while guiding the survivors of a party decimated in an Indian attack, is mauled by a bear and left for dead while his son is killed. Glass struggles to survive in an incredibly hostile environment, so that he can return to exact retribution on Fitzgerald, who killed his son.
I have mixed feelings about this visceral but beautiful movie. Directed by Alejando Inarritu, it shows, if anything, even more directorial flamboyance than his Oscar-winning Birdland, and is undoubtedly less likely to divide opinion quite as markedly. The opening sequence of the Indian attack is staggeringly well filmed, in lengthy unbroken shots where the camera makes movements which seem impossible. The movie is a feast for the eyes - the scenery is spectacular, the action is brilliantly choreographed and photographed, the special effects are astonishing (you can't see where they finish and reality ends) – and, all the time, the camera is endlessly prowling around and through the action. Every second on screen shows what a challenging shoot this was.
But there are flaws. At over two and a half hours, it is at least half an hour too long – Glass' wilderness wandering could usefully have been trimmed down. And demanding shoot or not, DiCaprio's almost dialogue-less performance is more grimacing than acting. Tom Hardy sounds authentic but largely incomprehensible as Fitzgerald. Inarritu is far too fond of shots of the sky up through pine trees – the first one was gorgeous, the 21st smacked of "Get on with it." The payback on the kidnapped Indian girl is muddled from a story point of view. Frankly, I didn't believe Glass would have survived: not just the bear attack, but the repeated soakings for extended periods in freezing water. And the film is very dark and desaturated, a trend which I have lost patience with.
It is definitely worth seeing, but I don't think I'm that keen on seeing it again soon.