By Tyler Chavez – Staff Reporter

The past few years have seen a few constants in Hollywood: survival movies and Leonardo DiCaprio’s inability to win an Oscar. When you combine those elements, and the directing of Oscar winner Alejandro Inarritu, you end up with a film like “The Revenant”. The movie tells the story of Hugh Glass, played by Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Aviator”, “The Wolf of Wall Street”, “The Great Gatsby”) as he is left for dead by his troop of fur trappers following a bear mauling. What’s amazing is that this is actually a true story. Hugh Glass was actually left for dead and had to travel hundreds of miles in a frozen western U.S. in the 1820s. The film also stars Tom Hardy (“Mad Max: Fury Road”, “Inception”, “The Dark Knight Rises”) as Glass’ adversary Larry Fitzgerald, and Will Poulter (“The Maze Runner”, “We’re the Millers”) as Bridger, a young member of the fur trapping troop. With a talented cast, beautiful directing, and great cinematography, “The Revenant” presents a film experience that no other film matched this year.

The movie starts in 1823, following a group of fur trappers preparing to move on in the frozen American west. However, they are attacked by a group of Arikara Native Americans trying to find their chief’s kidnapped daughter. Ambushed, they are forced to leave much of their furs, and men, and escape onto boats. The surviving members attempt to make it to Fort Kiowa for safety. But after Hugh Glass is mauled by a bear, the party decides to move on and leave him with Larry Fitzgerald and Bridger. But, Fitzgerald convinces Bridger to leave Glass. When he wakes up, Glass finds himself alone and unable to walk. He now must somehow manage to return to Fort Kiowa and prove that he is alive.

The first thing you will notice about this film is how beautiful it is. The frozen, unsettled western U.S. is vast, cold, lonely, and menacing; which is perfect for a survival story. Especially for one such as “The Revenant”. Inarritu chose to use only natural lighting, fearing that CGI would make the film worse. His decision paid off as the natural landscape is beautiful and makes the story more gritty. The brutal cold winters are also presented through the amazing cinematography. For example, the first raid by the Arikara Native Americans is done in one continuous shot. The entire scene is done in one gorgeous take that encaptures the brutal attack and the desperation to get away. One-shot scenes are perfect for action movies because everything is so fluid and you know that there are no tricks to the fighting. The movie uses other long shots to build drama, intensity, and to show you just how beautiful the wilderness is. The combination of the gorgeous scenery and Inarritu’s genius directing creates a film that wonderfully reflects the mood of the film with its cold, lonely, bitter, and harsh cinematography.

The acting is also a huge contributor to the success of the film. As we all know, Leonardo DiCaprio is an extremely talented actor, and his portrayal of Hugh Glass is no different. What’s interesting is that Glass is an unusual type of character for DiCaprio to play. Usually, we see him as a fast-talking, smart aleck who is on his way to fortune and greatness. But his role as Glass is completely different. He’s on the verge of death, he’s broken and beaten, and he’s struggling to survive. This is a role that is far from typical for DiCaprio, and yet he still manages to nail it. His desire to survive and the struggle to even move is felt and adds a sense of urgency and life that is needed for a film such as this.

Tom Hardy also delivers a great performance as the cold-hearted Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, just like Glass, is just trying to survive, leading him to abandon Glass. Hardy is used to playing rugged survivalists as he did in “Mad Max: Fury Road”. The performances of DiCaprio and Hardy on opposite sides bring experience and skill to a film that relies heavily on body language to tell its story.

While the performances of the actors is great, there is one problem with it: the dialogue. Not that the writing is bad or cheesy, but that it’s not entirely necessary. Everyone in the movie has this rough, mix of southern and western accent that makes it difficult to understand what they’re saying. On top of this, they’re often whispering or speaking softly, making it even harder to make out what they’re trying to say. The only time the viewer really needed to hear what was being said was when Fitzgerald and the other party members were debating what to do with the practically dead Glass. Since much of the film depended on the actions of the actors and their body language, the movie could have had no dialogue, and still would be able to tell a great story. The majority of DiCaprio’s scenes have him alone, with no dialogue, and viewers will still be encaptured by what was going on and in a way.

“The Revenant” has already been met with a lot of praise, and is nominated for multiple Academy Awards, and it’s clear to see why. The beautiful cinematography and brilliant directing combined with powerful performances by the lead actors present a large, gritty movie with a survival story to tell. Fans of DiCaprio will appreciate his new kind of role, and fans of action movies will love the harsh survival elements that make the film fun to watch. On top of this, the beautiful nature shots and expert shooting makes the film captivating and will draw viewers in for a long ride. “The Revenant” delivers an awesome film that is sure to run away with awards at the Oscars.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars