Review of The Revenant (2015) by Theapplegnome — 30 Dec 2015

*Spoiler free review* Leonardo DiCaprio's endless hunt for the future Oscar comes to an end with a stunning performance in this realistic, dark and overall stunning cinematography-masterpiece.

We follow Hugh Glass in the late 1820s of America and his endless fight for survival. It's a suffering journey towards redemption, revenge and of course the continuous passion for living. The realistic direction by Iñárritu, who also directed Birdman, is a present aspect. Just the long, smooth & realistic close-ups and overall sequences are stunningly shot! We see our characters react and express their inner self in a true way that, thanks too the once again great camera work, makes the film something extraordinary and very rare in todays-filmmaking. Even when characters are in real danger and much intensity are a present thing, we still get close and detailed scenes, we even experience the condensation of water from the breath on the camera lens! Wow! The tone of this always-intense, non-stop movie is extraordinary, they went for a real, shoot on location-only flick and we got exactly that. Fingers, body parts and blood are flying wildly and all over the camera and it feels real. It feels like it really did happen. That's how good 'The Revenant is'; never boring.

DiCaprio continues to impress, and he really does have a spectacular performance as Glass. His great passion for acting gives his character much power, and combined with a wonderful and deep writing, we have a very understandable antagonist! Alongside with DiCaprio does Gleeson have a major role, and he steals it! Both ant-and-protagonist are very understandable and it's not a very complex chemistry, which could have been more explored yes I agree, but it didn't have to be that way. The father-son relationship though, could have been much more developed and emotionally-bonded. There wasn't anything unique nor anything 'that very' special about it. It's good yes, but it's just a small aspect that could have been more explored for a better emotional impact. The dialogs are another minor aspect, there's nothing wrong with them but some out there will probably find them a bit boring, and if that's the case I think this movie isn't perfect for you.

This really is a real and slick survival film that made oneself aware of how dark and dangerous the world can be, while at the same time being barely watchable due to the intense and horrifying moments of this Oscar nominee.