Tom Hardy shines through big name actor Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant.
Leonardo DiCaprio may finally have an Oscar secured, and all it took was getting mauled by a bear.
In his latest spectacle The Revenant, DiCaprio plays a guide named Hugh Glass who leads a trapping expedition in the American frontier in the early 1800s. The gritty film opens up with a bloody bang and keeps audiences' attention until the credits roll. This isn’t a movie where you’ll be tempted to check Twitter in the theater.
The film is based off Michael Punke's novel The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge. Glass’ luck goes downhill almost immediately and doesn’t get any better. He gets mauled by a bear in an impressive, if not horrifying, CGI sequence. Glass is then left for dead by fellow trapper John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Glass swears revenge and crawls, falls and staggers back to find Fitzgerald.
The film snagged three Golden Globes, including one for DiCaprio and for director Alejandro González Iñárritu, who also directed last year's Best Picture winner, Birdman. The director’s old school style of using longer takes — which was even more present in Birdman — only added to the intensity of the film as a whole.
The official Oscar nominee list has yet to be announced, but the film is almost sure to secure nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Director.
Although there is Oscar buzz surrounding DiCaprio and whether he’ll finally get his fabled award, Hardy manages to steal some of the show. Fitzgerald is a ruthless trapper who always manages to justify the terrible things he does in the name of survival. This smooth-talking hunter almost tricks you into sympathizing with him. You certainly won’t be rooting for him, but he’s the kind of villain that makes a movie great.
Having been snubbed at the Golden Globes, it’s still uncertain whether an Oscar nomination is in the future for Hardy.
Contrary to Fitzgerald, DiCaprio’s character does not do much talking throughout the film, yet he doesn’t really need to. With every inch Glass crawls closer to Fitzgerald for his revenge, you can see anger and determination in his movements.
This comes to a head toward the end of the movie when Glass is getting ready for one last leg of his journey toward revenge. DiCaprio delivers a gripping monologue with such blind rage and certainty in his eyes that you almost pity Fitzgerald.
While filming in the cold, the wild terrain of Canada and Argentina has been described as a“living hell,” by the crew, but it certainly paid off. The Revenant, which is showing at the Athena Grand, has a very serious chance of finally getting Leo a fourth shot at his well-deserved Oscar for acting.
Rating: 4.5/5
@AustinRErickson
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