Review of The Revenant (2015) by Kip D — 09 Aug 2016

After the critical acclaim of Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) and its subsequent dominance at the Academy Awards last year, expectations were high going into The Revenant. It has all the makings of an impressive cinematic experience - Iñárritu, DiCaprio, Hardy, but perhaps most importantly Emmanuel Lubezki as director of photography. And boy, it delivers.

In an adaptation of true events, DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, an 1800's fur trapper who is mauled by a bear and left for dead by his team. Alone in the extreme wilderness, Glass grips onto life despite his intense injuries. Tackling a blizzard and encountering merciless strangers along the way, Glass must use his knowledge of the terrain and its people to make his way back to the barracks, fuelled by a lust for revenge for those who left him behind.

This massive, spectacle drama is all build around one of the most primal human instincts and a story that has been seen time and time again: it's a revenge drama. With the basic nature of the narrative, The Revenant has two big calling cards for cinema fans; gritty and intense performances and completely immersive cinematography. Its Birdman without the deep-rooted allegory to Keaton's own career at its core. (Side note: Just so we're clear, I'm not even Birdman's biggest fan despite what might come across in this review. It has its flaws. I was team Linklater's last year, and I still see Boyhood as the superior film from 2014.).

Being shallow is not necessarily a bad thing - it certainly makes The Revenant a more accessible film for the mainstream market. And it is a film that needs to be experienced in the cinema to be fully appreciated. If you're interested in seeing it, don't wait for the DVD or BluRay. Lubezki created so much depth in a single frame, its pure magic. There's a return to extended single tracking shots, but in smaller sequences, which work well. Echoing what I said about The Hateful Eight (2016), its too long but it also a work of art in a purely visceral way.

Will Leo take home the Oscar (finally)? I think so, considering who he's up against I don't think anyone else will pinch it. In the age-old tradition, the Academy will finally give him long-overdue recognition, even if this isn't necessarily his best film/performance (See: Martin Scorsese for The Departed, Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart, Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman, the list goes on and on). DiCaprio has of course honed his craft through years of work and an impressive film repertoire. But in my eyes, he should have won an Oscar way, way back at the start of his career in 1993, for best supporting actor in What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

Summing up, The Revenant is a cinematic experience for those into visuals and performance pieces, but also feels shallow in comparison to the directors previous work and other films in the Best Picture category. It doesn't have the same gravitas as Birdman, which felt like a love-letter to cinema and the film industry. But that perhaps says more about Birdman than it does The Revenant. Come February 28th I'd be satisfied to see Leo and Lubezki take home the golden idol for their achievements, but would feel a little robbed if it takes away the big award for Best Picture, because its just not. That's a whole other debate for another time I suppose...