'The Revenant' Movie Review: Not For the Faint of Heart
- Details
- Category: New at the Movies
- Created: Friday, 04 December 2015 17:21
- Published: Saturday, 05 December 2015 10:39
- Written by Lupe R Haas
Carnage and brutal are the two words that came to mind after watching Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy in THE REVENANT. Directed by Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu and photographed beautifully by Emmanuel Lubezki, THE REVENANT is one of those films that should be experienced on the big screen for its scope.
Don't go in with a full stomach as you'll definitely be feeling sick to your stomach with some really graphic scenes involving human and animal carnage. The frontier life in the 1800s was a brutal time, and THE REVENANT captures the harsh living conditions. Numerous new stories have come out about the grueling shooting conditions with crew quitting the production. Shot in the wilderness of Canada, the crew and actors shot for many short days because of the limited sunlight and weather conditions. That harshness comes through on the screen.
We’ve never seen Leonardo DiCaprio quite like his before as a dirty, rugged mountain man bent on revenge after one of his men leaves him for dead and kills his half-Indian son. The bear mauling scene was horrifying to watch, and DiCaprio’s Hugh Glass should’ve died, but it is a movie after all. Wounded and mangled, Glass defies all odds to find Tom Hardy’s character to enact revenge. You'll have to suspend disbelieve a bit that someone could survive multiple obstacles and accidents under those conditions. However the film is well-made and the drama keeps you glued to the screen thanks to the actors and the scenery.
There’s no doubt Leonardo DiCaprio will be up for Best Actor nominations this award season for his powerful performance. Hardy is as equally as good as DiCaprio which we have come to expect from the intense actor. Domhnall Gleeson, who we will also see in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as General Hux, has his share of equally good moments as well as young actor Will Poulter (We’re the Millers).
THE REVENANT will leave you feeling exhausted after two and a half-hours, but it's an adventure worth watching for the beauty of filmmaking.