Film Review: The Revenant (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2015) ★★★★★

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In 1823, legendary fur trapper, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), aids an expedition in the uncharted American wilderness. Having  survived a vicious bear attack, Glass is abandoned by his hunting team and believed dead. Broken but fuelled by vengeance, he treks through the wintry, harsh terrain trailing John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), the former confidant who betrayed him.

**Please be warned this review may contain some major plot points**

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When you envisage a Western, you might think of hands on holsters, a burning sunset or perhaps a lone horseman trekking over a vast, dusty landscape. The Revenant, however, is everything but your average Western in this less commonly exploited side of the genre. Set in the snowy terrain of American wilderness in the 1800s, Alejandro González Iñárritu presents a grueling tale, based on true events, of survival and betrayal in the toughest of conditions. Hugh Glass, alongside his native-american son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), are among forty men in an expedition to gather fur pelts. It's interrupted, however, when the camp is attacked my a large Pawnee tribe who are seeking the chief's kidnapped daughter. Having narrowly escaped with their lives, a smaller group of men depends on Glass to get them home but a vicious attack by a bear leaves him fighting for his life and slowing the men down. Believing him to be a goner, the crew leave Glass in the hands of his son, Hawk, Fitzgerald and Jim Bridger (Will Poulter), the youngest member of the group. Feeling held back by Glass and eager to return to camp, Fitzgerald plots a brutal plan.  

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The Revenant is ultimately an art piece projected on the glorious silver screen for the masses.  As seen with previous Iñárritu productions such as Birdman: or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance (2014), each shot is visually stunning and a masterpiece. Using only natural light, The Revenant captures a bitter yet beautiful landscape which totally immerses audiences in the harsh conditions of the mountains. This is aided all the further by DiCaprio's performance which is truly remarkable and possibly one of his greatest to date. Through every hardship he encounters, spectators feel every onze of pain even with the majority of his role being unspoken. Furthermore, DiCaprio acts along side some of the greatest in the next generation of Hollywood actors; an outstanding Tom Hardy as well as Will Poulter and Domnhall Gleeson who have already proven themselves to have shining careers. It is not enough for a film such as this to simply be shot beautifully, it needed the support of a truly talented cast to bring it to life and portrait its narrative in a believable and immersive fashion.

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Despite an A-list lead role, The Revenant is not what you would expect from a Hollywood production nor is it for the faint hearted. With scenes of graphic violence, sexual assault and animal mutilation, the majority of it's scene are hard to swallow. As an audience member, it is clear that Iñárritu does not intend to let audiences sit comfortably but instead, he sets out to have them on the edge of their seat at all times with hearts pounding. The films ability to captivate and it's intensity is what makes it truly successful; bringing audiences an experience over a viewing.

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A prominent theme through out the film is life and death. Upon returning to the village, Glass states "I'm not afraid to die anymore, I've done it already". Glass essentially dies when he finds his dead son, he is left in a state of limbo; forced to brave the element despite his many wounds and faces many dangers on route. Having lost his only family, he has nothing to stay alive for other than his shear determination for revenge. He is only then reborn we he emerges from the horse's stomach he has to keep him warm. This horse acts a visual metaphor to birth Glass back in to the world and gives him the strength to get back up to find Fitzgerald. This scene and reoccurring theme is very powerful narrative tool as well as typical of the film's director, Iñárritu, who uses metaphors often to portrait deeper meanings and his characters' state of mind.

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Overall, having now seen the film, I find it understandable as to why it has been rewarded with twelve Oscar nominations. Shot by shot it is beautiful whilst the cast are what makes it truly believable and hard- hitting. The Revenant gets a Sophie star rating of 5 out of 5 stars and a huge salute for the Academy Awards next month. Though not entirely without its flaws, being nearly 3 hours long it did feel it could lose perhaps lose fifteen minutes or so from the running time, it is possibly a favourite of the year so far.

So there you have it. What's your favourite film of the year so far? Have you seen The Revenant yet? As always, I love reading your comments so please do leave them below! That's another Oscar film ticked off my list, not many left to go! More film reviews to follow...