Man: Pelt trapper, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), is savaged by a bear and left wandering the wilderness trying to exact his revenge on those who wronged him (post-bear savaging). Plays out like that scene at the end of Saw when Cary Elwes has to cut off his own foot. A lot of gruesome shit going down. A lot of drawn out whispery pronouncements. Guy just can't catch a break.
Nature: Emmanuel Lubezki shoots the Canadian (and Argentinian) wilderness, finding incomprehensible beauty in the rugged, snow-driven landscapes. The cinematography here, all captured under natural light across an 80 day shoot, is astonishing. Jaw-droppingly beautiful. All framed to maximise the locations' the man-dwarfing grandeur.
On balance, I can't say I got all that much out of Iñárritu's revenge drama. The human aspects of the piece are drawn out. The performances, from DiCaprio and Tom Hardy are both suitably committed. The action is exceptionally realistic. But their beef with each other just isn't enough to sustain the 2 hour 36 minute runtime.
That's where Lubezki comes in. He and Iñárritu deliver a handful of bravura scenes that press the medium to new heights. The opening retreat and Glass' escape from the Arikara both astonish. With that in mind, there is certainly enough to keep lovers of cinema going even if, like me, they do not connect with the film's manly chest beating thematics.
★★★☆
Trailer:
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