Movie reviews: A look at this years’ Oscar nominees ‘The Big Short,’ ‘The Revenant’

posted in: Opinion | 0

“The Revenant” is an ode to filmmaking and cinematography. Director Alejandro Inarritu shows us why he is one of the best out there.

“The Revenant” is the story of Hugh Glass (Leonardo Dicaprio), who while on a fur trapping expedition in the 1820’s is mauled by a bear. John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) sees him as a liability so he attempts to kill Glass and leave him for dead.

However, Glass survives and he hunts down Fitzgerald to enact revenge.

“The Revenant” bills itself as based on a true story, however in the movie he had a native wife who was murdered and a half-native son who did not exist in real life.

However, their creation as characters works and it becomes apparent they make the story of the movie more compelling.

This movie was a technical masterpiece.

Inarritu’s uses of extended shots lasted up to 20 to 25 minutes and were impressive to say the least. The lighting, which was for the most part, all natural. This natural lighting must have been excruciating because of a small window of opportunity during the film process in any particular day.

A lot of attention was given to this movie because of Leonardo Dicaprio. While he probably will win The Academy Award for Best Actor this year, I do not agree his acting performance in this warrants that kind of nod.

Do not get me wrong; the lengths Dicaprio went to in this movie, such as eating an actual liver are impressive, but he does not DO much acting in the film. He has very little dialogue and interaction and his acting can mainly be chalked up to grunting and grimacing, which is good, but it is still in Leo’s comfort zone as far as characters go and wasn’t anything extra special.

This is an intense movie, but it is not a blockbuster. This is a thrilling movie, but it is an art house that is very well directed and shot.

As I said, it is an ode to cinema and most, if not all, the success of this movie should be accredited to the director Alejandro Inarritu.

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