Miserable; Not Only The Character's Life But The Film Too

Rating: 2/10 (21 December 2015)

At 156 minutes, "The Revenant" is unwatchable, so it wasn't. After an hour, instead skipped to watch a minute every three or four through to the last twenty minutes which encapsulates the final conflict between John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) and Leonardo DiCaprio (Hugh Glass). Nothing was missed for in between is Glass grimacing left then right.
There is a harrowing, savage bear attack leading to Glass hanging to life by a slender thread. Oddly, all that came to mind is how the effects were accomplished. That goes to a lack of empathy for protagonist Glass.
This is a film of unquestioned artistic merit. Though some gush about the cinematography, it is merely serviceable. It's not the cinematography that's beautiful, it's the wilderness. All that's required of an available light cinematographer is to set the frame and F-stop. The actors most likely kissed pavement back in civilization after shooting this demanding film. They did well under the circumstances, particularly DiCaprio. The villain is the director and the unreachable allegory he wrote on the script pages.
In "Jodorowsky's Dune," the titular director made a few memorable Seventies' films. When pitching "Dune," the studios requested a standard length film - 120 minutes (not viable for a film from a story this complex). But Jodorowsky wondered why it couldn't be ten hours or twenty hours. He was clueless why the studios weren't funding him. The doc is in part the story of a delusional, out-of-control ego. The viewer may wish to slap his face. Enter Alejandro González Iñárritu who also appears to have an ego of the same dimensions.
God bless the artists, but not those who trade their expression for self aggrandizement. Not only is "The Revenant" a vanity project, it is Oscar bait.
Awards should be given to those brave enough to sit through this slog. It is a simple story raised to the power of crashing bore. "The Revenant" is nearly incomprehensible, and filled with spiritual mumbo-jumbo even Iñárritu most likely can't explain.
See this if you relish masochism. It's a bet this film will bomb. Maybe that will awaken Iñárritu. He's a genius. He just doesn't know how to connect with an audience. He certainly doesn't here.