THE REVENANT (2016)

Alejandro G. Inarritu’s film which he co-wrote with Mark L. Smith was inspired by the experiences of frontiersman and fur trapper Hugh Glass and based in part on the book THE REVENANT: A Novel of Revenge by Michael Punke. An extraordinary telling of life on the frontier with beautiful performances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter and Forrest Goodluck among many others. I was awestruck by the cinematography of Emmanuel Lubezki and how immersive you as an audience member are made to feel when experiencing the events as they unfold. A deeply moral tale that shows extraordinary sensitivity to the American Indian and how their lands were literally stolen from them by the European migrants to this country and how they became second class citizens in their own land. It also has some of the most realistic action sequences ever filmed, including a grizzly bear attack scene that puzzles me in how it was shot without having harmed Mr.DiCaprio in its execution. An amazing story that also happens to be quite entertaining while remaining realistically tragic in its telling, it will most likely be the picture to beat as the Best Picture of the Year at this year’s Academy Awards, along with a career defining role for Leonardo DiCaprio.