Movie Review: The Story of Survival than that of Revenge- The Revenant

***Spoiler Alert!***
It's probably a bad idea to take on one of the movies with decent number of Oscar wins just after the Oscars Ceremony, but, that doesn't stop me from reviewing the movie I've just watched. While most of us had our own meanings for the title 'The Revenant', it might possibly mean "a corpse that has returned from the grave to terrorize the living". With Leonardo coming back from partially being buried, it's only sane to think the motive behind the title was it's this illustration from various others.
'The Revenant' tells a story of how Hugh Glass (played gloriously by one and only Leonardo DiCaprio), came back for his revenge after one of his men kills his son and leaves him for dead after a bear mauling. Leonardo's portrayal of Hugh Glass just steals the show! Nuff said! Tom Hardy as the ruthless paranoid outperforms the bear, who gave the third best performance in the movie. The so much talked bear mauling scene is so gore and tense. Totally worth it! Though the movie is seen more as a revenge drama, it's more a survival show than a revenge and that's not disappointing!

The cinematography is stunning! Just stunning! With only natural light (except for one scene as snowfall distorted the lighting), every frame looks fantastic. Emmanuel Lubezki repeats his magic just like he did in 'Birdman' to make the audience feel that the movie is made of few long and continuous scenes. Every time there's sun/sunrise in the frame, we get the feeling that's out of the world. No wonder this guy bagged his third consecutive Oscar for Cinematography. The whole buzz about hoe tough making of this movie was, it's real and it's visible in every single frame. Music just kicks in when and where it's necessary and disappears when unnecessary. With a Alejandro who knew exactly how he wanted to take the story forward, the direction and taking also makes the movie top notch! With dialogues like "I ain't afraid of dying, captain. I done that already" and "As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight", the script connects to everyone who had fought his life. And that's everyone!

Highlights:
  • Cinematography
  • Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy and Domhnall Gleeson Performances
  • Script
  • Direction
  • Infamous bear mauling scene
Imperfection:
  • I'm not somebody who would complain of pace in a movie, but, I'll definitely complain about repetitive scenes here and there. As that's more of an imperfection than of a drawback, hence the tag!
  • Fictionalization- that's an imperfection when you associate the words "Based on true events" with the movie.
  • Climax
 
Deep Study:
      It's often said that we forget things if we do not have anyone to share them with. Taking this to next level, we find Leo scribbling "Fitzgerald killed my son" on land and snow. This shows how desperately Hugh wants to get out alive and get his revenge. It works as a catalyst for him to reach his goal.

Appreciations:
  • Academy Award for Best Cinematography- Emmanuel Lubezki.
  • Academy Award for Best Actor- Leonardo DiCaprio.
  • Academy Award for Achievement in Direction- Alejandro G Innaritu.
Verdict: This goes into my Must Watch movies folder!

Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1663202/trivia?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu

P.S: I still have a doubt. Doesn't this movie qualify as a Western? It's go grit, gore, horses, snow and dialogues! I think this sure qualifies a western!

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