In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Wednesday 23 March 2016

THE REVENANT [2015]

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu's brutally bleak survival thriller, The Revenant, was one of the films I was anticipating the most in 2015 and it delivered the goods something fierce.
Set in the 1820's, while on a fur trading expedition, a huntsman is viciously attacked by a bear and left for dead by the man who killed his son.
Leonardo DiCaprio, in the leading role, gives it all he's got and forces you to feel it with each drop of sweat, blood and tear that is shed.  All the while, Iñárritu is displaying his masterful technique of well-crafted photography and thoughtful direction.  There's plenty of beautifully executed tracking shots that absorb the viewer deeper into the distress of the characters and their harsh environment.  Not only is it a masterpiece with technicality but it also tells a harrowing story of survival, the love & hatred of the Earth and what's more important: one's masculinity or keeping one's humane side in-check?
With all this, I was most pleased to see the Aboriginal's finally portrayed in a mainstream film, not as victims of or threats to the white-man, but rather just human beings trying to survive on a planet that will be here long after we've all disappeared.

5 toasty warm horsies out of 5

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