Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman; Babel) and starring Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic; The Wolf of Wall Street; Inception; The Great Gatsby; The Aviator), Tom Hardy (Star Trek: Nemesis; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; Mad Max: Fury Road; Child 44; Locke; The Dark Knight Rises), Will Poulter (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; We're the Millers; The Maze Runner; Glassland) and Domhnall Gleeson (Brooklyn; Shadow Dancer; Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens; Anna Karenina).
Drama, 156 mins, in English, 16+
A band of hunters in the wild mountainous area of Missouri are nearing the end of their hunt for pelts when they are attacked by a group of native Americans in a viscious attack that leaves only 10 of the original group of 44 men, alive. The manage to escape but know they are themselves being hunted and need to get back to camp. Along the way, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is seriously injured when attacked by a bear. Captain Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson) offers a bonus for John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) and Bridger (Will Poulter) to stay with him while he makes headway back to camp.
A powerful drama set in winter with the characters facing challenges from natural dangers including surviving hypothermia and human threats alike, not forgetting individual personalities and differing agendas. The cinematography is superb with panoramic views and long single shots features of the directing. While most of the drama is experienced getting back to the safety of camp, the characters are developed with the help of some flashbacks.
While there is a fair amount of violence in this film, there are also some gruesome scenese also, one in particularly involving a dead horse, but what these help to do is to underline the extremes one needs to go to in order to survive the harsh winters.
Ultimately The Revenant is not a tale of survival but one of revenge... And the bear should get an Oscar for its performance.
