Best Picture Nominee: The Revenant

Directed by: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Cast:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Tom Hardy
Domhnall Gleeson

I had a feeling before the Oscar nominations were even announced this film would be a Best Picture nominee. Even so, I wasn’t in a hurry to see it as it seemed much darker and more depressing than I usually like my movies. So I waited, though I was pretty sure I would need to watch it eventually, and I was right. I ended up enlisting my boyfriend to see it with me, as I really didn’t want to see this one alone in case it became too disturbing.

Birdman was possibly my least favorite of last year’s Oscar nominees, but I really appreciated what Iñárritu did with that film. The cinematography and the way the entire movie felt like one long continuous shot was fascinating. So what I was looking forward to most seeing in The Revenant was more of his style of film-making, and I wasn’t disappointed. 

The performances were terrific. I remember thinking partway through the film this may finally be the year DiCaprio takes home that trophy, and he would certainly have earned it. This film was brutal, and it couldn’t have been easy to put on this performance. Hardy was great as well, though his category has some pretty stiff competition and I’m not confident in his chances of winning. However, as despicable as his character was, he did a good job with it.

The cinematography was the thing that really blew me away with this film and is what made me really enjoy it. Nearly every shot of the movie was wonderfully composed and there was so much gorgeous scenery. It really was a beautifully shot film. Early on in the film, as the hunting camp comes under attack, some of those camera movements and follows reminded me of what Iñárritu had done with Birdman.

I feel it’s probably unlikely that Iñárritu could win Best Picture and Director two years in a row, which is a shame because this film is so much better than Birdman, but I really do feel like it would deserve at least one of those honors. The Revenant is still not a movie I would watch more than once – it’s absolutely brutal and several scenes are difficult to watch – but I definitely enjoyed it much more than I had expected to.

Rating: 9/10

Memorable Moment: There is one scene that will give you Empire Strikes Back flashbacks, only so much more disturbing.

Ranking:
1. The Revenant