Review: The Revenant

After BIRDMAN won last year's Oscar for Best Picture, one would assume the heavy burden that director Alejandro González Iñárritu would feel for his next project, THE REVENANT. But it seems that while it doesn't quite reach the magnitude of BIRDMAN, it does come awfully close, in its bloody, breathtaking portrayal of the human spirit and drive for survival.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, the real-life survivalist legend for whom the story is inspired. A fur trapper in the 1820s American West, Glass finds a job with the military, hunting for pelts in the uncharted wilderness. This ragtag team of trappers, led by Captain Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson), is decimated by an attack from a local Arikara tribe, leaving only 20 left in the hunting party. To make matters worse, Glass has an unfortunate, near-fatal run in with a bear, slowing the hunting party in their attempt to return to civilization.

Henry finally makes the decision to leave Glass behind -- a decision that Glass's son, Hawk (a half-Pawnee boy, played by Forrest Goodluck) does not appreciate. Hawk and two other men, Bridger (Will Poulter), and John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), stay behind with Glass -- though Fitzgerald agrees to it only after Hawk and Bridger offer up their share of the reward for staying. With his greed and consistent concern for only himself, it is no surprise when Fitzgerald causes trouble, disrupting the little party that stays behind and abandoning Glass to survive on his own.

I'll let the rest of the story tell itself on screen, but suffice it to say that one of the things that keeps Glass alive is a thirst for vengeance. The concept of survival through vengeance may have been done before, but the story is still powerfully executed, and the characters are vibrant within the plot. Hardy's cruel, curmudgeonly greed creates the perfect antagonist, and DiCaprio owns the screen with his mostly non-verbal role. While it may not be an Oscar-winning performance for DiCaprio (it may be his strongest role yet, but for whatever reason the dialogue in the film is this man's downfall) there is no doubt of the captivating quality that he brings throughout the 2 hours and 40 minutes of the plot.

As usual, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki's work demands applause: we are gifted with the trademark long, rambling shots which capture the natural beauty of Glass's surroundings, all within natural lighting -- the crew apparently forewent electric lighting to enhance the atmosphere of the story.

Another hard-earned feat for Iñárritu, and a sure Oscar nomination, to say the very least. THE REVENANT is now playing at the Midtown Cinema!