The Revenant (2015)

Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Screenplay: Mark L. Smith, Alejandro G. Iñárritu (based on the book by Michael Punke) 
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy
Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto, Bryce Dessner
Time: 156 minutes
Bottom-line: Spectacular visuals and committed performances make this film a winner

After The Wolf of Wall Street, DiCaprio said he would be taking a long break from acting, to carry on with his environmental activities. Well he’s back, and with what style! The film is titled perfectly too – The Revenant, meaning someone who is back from the dead! Co-starring Tom Hardy as the film’s antagonist, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s film is a tale of survival, based on the true events experienced by fur trapper Hugh Glass.

1823: A group of hunters and fur trappers are hunting for pelts in the wilderness of Louisiana. They experience a hostile attack from the native Arikara Indians, leading to the death of half the members. The rest of the team escapes in a boat, but their progress is hindered when Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) is mauled by a grizzly bear, and this encounter leaves him nearly dead. The captain offers a payment to the men who are willing to stay behind with Glass while the others continue with their journey. John Fitzgerald (Hardy), Jim Bridger and Glass' son volunteer, but once separated, Fitzgerald reveals his true intentions by almost murdering Glass, saying it is good for the team. Fitzgerald leaves Glass for the dead and escapes. How Glass battles for his life and takes revenge on Fitzgerald is what the film is about.

DiCaprio as Hugh Glass

The main things I liked about the film are the acting and cinematography; the other aspects automatically fit in. Tom Hardy does most of the talking, while DiCaprio barely has 20 lines to speak – most of them in Glass’ native tongue, and of course, a lot of grunting sounds! But what this role does is it shows how terrific DiCaprio’s body language is. One can clearly see the vengeful look he bears in his eyes throughout the film, and of course, he does an amazing job portraying his transformation from an almost dead person to a man strong enough to hunt down Fitzgerald. Tom Hardy plays a cool and calm villain, and he really does make you hate his character. The “dynamic duo” of DiCaprio and Hardy have excellent chemistry between them.

Tom Hardy as Fitzgerald

I am a huge fan of Emmanuel Lubezki, the cinematographer of this film. He has won two back-to-back Academy Awards in this category for Gravity and Birdman. The camerawork is simply superb; Lubezki and Iñárritu have come up with the perfect way to capture the breathtaking landscapes (shot in 12 countries), the actors’ emotions and expressions and the violence. The scene where Glass fights the bear is perhaps the best scene in the film (it will surely obviate any doubt you have as to why it is named a grizzly bear!). In fact, Iñárritu was adamant to shoot without any CGI, and using only natural lighting, and having seen the film, I am amazed that CGI was not used... it seems impossible!

With DiCaprio giving a truly committed performance, I am pretty sure the hot topic in the film industry now is “Will DiCaprio finally win the Oscar?”

My Rating: 4/5
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 80%