So! Here we go, my first movie review in about 5 years or so. I bet you are excited aren't you? Yes you are, but please take your hands out of your trousers until the end at least you disgusting person.
Oh, and by the way, SPOILERS ahead.
Set in the United States during the period where it was like Australia today (crazy temperatures, every animal looking to kill you) the story focuses predominantly on Hugh Glass (Leo Di Caprio) a fur trapper with a half native American son. Almost immediately Glass and the rest of the expedition he is part of are attacked by a tribe of Arikara Native Americans who want to steal the fur for themselves. Outnumbered Glass and a few of the party escape, amongst them is John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) who is much more concerned with getting the furs back to wherever they need to go.
Once they are safely away from the hostiles the group decides to stash some of their payload to return at a later date, much to the annoyance of Fitzgerald who insists that they are wasting time and basically attempts to undermine the authority of everyone he can, including the Captain of the expedition Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson).
Things take a turn for the worst as Glass is mauled by a bear and left close to death. Once it is realised that it is too hazardous to carry an injured man, Henry asks for volunteers to stay behind with Glass and give him a proper burial when the time comes. Fitzgerald as well as Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) and Glass's son Hawk (Forest Goodluck) remain with Glass. Fitzgerald though decides it would best to kill Glass and get it over with, only to be stopped by Hawk who gets stabbed to death for his efforts. With Hawk dead, Fitzgerald persuades Bridger to leave and Glass is left for dead, only to survive and eventually seek his revenge.
All in all I would have to say that this movie lived up to the hype surrounding it. When I first saw the trailer I did wonder if this was your typical Oscar bait, and there probably is an element of that, however not enough that it distracts from the actual film itself.
Innaritu is quickly establishing himself as one of the worlds most notable directors and from this film its quite easy to see why. The direction is smooth and sensitive to the subject material and the use of natural lighting adds to the immersion and sympathy for Glass's struggle. Innaritu doesn't seem afraid to go all out for a scene to get the best reaction from his actors and by proxy the audience. I am thinking in particular of the scene where Glass sleeps inside a dead horse for warmth.
In terms of the acting its fair to say that this is probably Di Caprio's best performance for a while. He is never bad, but I think this film probably will earn him his Oscar once and for all. If not I really feel worried for the guys health, I mean he ate an actual bison liver for goodness sake! Just let him have the statue!
Other than that the rest of the cast do a great job too. Tom Hardy really excels at playing the villain in general and this is no exception. He is mean and relentless in his douchebaggery he really gives Di Caprio a run for his money, I wouldn't be surprised if he got the Oscar nod as well.
If there were any criticisms they would be minor ones like the films run time which stands at 2 hours and 36 minutes. I just felt that it really didn't need to be that long, I was never bored by it, but it felt as if it was only that long to justify the scale of the movie rather than because it had a complicated story to tell.
There were also some problems with the sound, though this may have just been a problem with the cinema I saw it in, but often when the Native Americans spoke the dialogue didnt match up with their mouths.
In conclusion then I would definitely recommend this film, its perhaps not for the squeamish, but everyone else is safe.
Oh and p.s. How many yacths must Domhnall Gleeson's agent have now. That's Ex Machina, Brooklyn, Star Wars and now The Revenant in the last year or so!
Bye now
