Surely an Oscar winning performance.

Rating: 8/10 (21 January 2016)

With the Oscars just a month away, it's time to speculate on whether this will be Leo's year. The film has accumulated the most Academy Award Nominations this year with a very impressive 12, this is enough to guarantee a satisfactory movie going experience for many.
The film is beautifully shot and the action is both dramatic and realistic, however it's the dramatic achievements of the leads that grab the attention. Leonardo DiCaprio gives an emotional and convincing performance as the protagonist on his journey of survival in an unforgiving land. DiCaprio keeps you engrossed throughout the film despite the lack of dialogue in many scenes, and portrays a man consumed by pain, loss, anger and hope all at once. Leo is the current favourite for this years Leading Actor Oscar and my pick as well.
Another Oscar nominated performance this time for a supporting role is achieved by Tom Hardy, playing opposite DiCaprio in some of the films most tense scenes, he keeps up with DiCaprio throughout, proving he too is deserving of an Oscar nod.
The beginning of the film is fast paced with all our lead characters involved, it does however slow down about halfway through and the amount of dialogue decreases substantially, the movie is very artistic and would not be to everyone's taste, there is no comedy to be had here with moments of real despair, however you remain hopeful due to DiCaprio's characters shear resilience in these difficult situations.
A masterpiece in direction and cinematography with almost guaranteed Oscar wins to come. Not for the faint of heart with realistic violence and upsetting scenes, but a real survival story with excellent acting and stunning visuals.