Review of The Revenant (2015) by Shreehari H — 12 Jan 2017

At one point towards the climax of director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's new film, DiCaprio declares in a somber tone: "He's afraid. He knows how far I came to find him.".

He might as well have been talking about that coveted golden Oscar statuette that has, rather ironically, eluded him for so long.

This year though, the accolade is his to lose.

As Hugh Glass, a nineteenth century fur trapper who sets out on a path of vengeance after being betrayed by one of his comrades, DiCaprio demonstrates astonishing levels of commitment to his craft.

The kind of trauma and suffering that his character endures is simply remarkable: it's the kind of film where getting attacked by a bloodcurdling beast of a bear for a whole five minutes can only be a portent of more painful things to come.

In the span of two and a half riveting hours, we see Glass removing a horse's entrails and sneaking himself inside its carcass, eating raw bison liver and even falling from the top of a cliff, and that's just the starting point.

Let's just say that Bear Grylls would have approved.

On the surface, The Revenant might appear to a banal, straightforward revenge saga, but dig deeper and you will realise that it's also a tale of hope, redemption and the indomitable power of the human spirit.

Inarritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki achieved stunning results with last year's Birdman; this time too, their partnership has yielded incredible dividends.

The screenplay does tend to get slightly erratic in places, especially post intermission.

Visually, however, this is a highly sumptuous meal, and one that begs to be devoured.

Not many directors, after all, can make blood look beautiful.