The Revenant
2015
*****
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck, Duane Howard, Arthur Redcloud, Melaw Nakehk'o, Grace Dove, Lukas Haas
In 1823, a party of fur trappers on the Missouri River are attacked by Ree Indians. During the retreat, their guide is mauled by a grizzly bear and left for dead by his treacherous companion. Alejandro González Iñárritu's thoroughly captivating drama tells the real-life story of Hugh Glass (1783–1833), who, severely injured, made an incredible 200 mile trek through hostile elements to settle the score with his wrongdoer. The script is partly fiction (and based on Michael Punke's novel), but even the actual events have been embellished along the years, so who knows what actually happened. This is understandably a long and arduous film with literally hours of suffering on screen, but it offers 2½ hours of pure cinematic magic. The locations are stunning and Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography captures them beautifully, Leonardo DiCaprio gives an extremely physical lead performance, and Iñárritu pulls the strings to perfection. All three were rewarded with an Academy Award.
