The Revenant (Review) - Just Give Leo an Oscar

Let's just get this out of the way: Leonardo DiCaprio ought to win an Oscar for this movie. It's inevitable that he won't, because unfortunately he's never awarded for his consistently stellar performances in all of his films, but he truly should. DiCaprio's central performance throughout all of The Revenant is the driving force behind the emotional tension, and is the crux of the the drama. 

The film itself tells the true story of Hugh Glass (Leondardo DiCaprio); a frontiersman in 1820s America, who's on a fur expedition with his native-American son, as well as other hardened men who just want to get home with some money for their families. As the title implies, Glass finds himself left for dead after a bear mauling, and must trek through the harsh, icy environment. His goal: to avenge the unprovoked murder of his son by the hands of a fellow frontiersman. 

The aforementioned bear mauling scene, as shown briefly in the trailer, is by far one of the most intense moments from the entire film. I've rarely found myself to be uncomfortable when watching a movie, but the visceral reality of the attack is genuinely unnerving, and a testament to how proficient DiCaprio is as an actor. It's one of several violent moments found throughout The Revenant, but it's easily the most poignant, and will remain with you long after leaving. It also sets the scene. Hugh Glass is left in a critical condition following the encounter, which allows empathy when certain members of his team suggest leaving him behind. In a freezing wasteland, where everything is apt to kill you, why drag along a man waiting to die? 

While the wasteland may well be frozen and dangerous, The Revenant proves to be an honestly beautiful movie. Filmed entirely with natural light sources (primarily the Sun), the prolonged shots of endless forests place you precisely within the film itself. This is usually just a term thrown around, but when you eventually find yourself in a warm, heated shower, you'll suddenly remember just how different it was back then. Understandably, cinematography is just one of the several Oscars that this film is nominated for, and I'd be shocked if it didn't win. 

DiCaprio's portrayal of Hugh Glass isn't the only stand-out, though. Tom Hardy as the antagonistic John Fitzgerald is equally notable, although his thick accent makes some dialogue hard to understand. There isn't a single performance throughout the film that lets it down, although some are forgettable at the very worst. The miscellaneous members of the hunting party near the beginning are all reasonably interchangeable, for example; however, their role is comparatively minor, so this is far from a negative issue. Perhaps the best example of how powerful the acting is, is that most of the key plot points are conveyed through facial expressions and action, as opposed to conjecture. Hugh Glass is alone for a long time. Because of this, Leo DiCaprio doesn't necessarily speak to anybody. The manipulation of his face, however, leads to strikingly emotive scenes. 

If I had to pick a handful of negative things about The Revenant, I'd have a tough time. It's a fairly flawless movie in terms of things it gets right and wrong, but there's a couple of issues that do drag it down slightly. There are hallucination sequences throughout in which Hugh Glass sees figures of his past, as well as other symbolic objects or monuments. Though these are intentionally vague and subjective, the nebulous way in which they are presented can come off as slightly pretentious. The pacing of the film is also an acquired taste. Going in to this expecting a Taken-esque style of revenge would be foolish, but it's likely even slower than you may expect. I didn't have a problem with this, but the slow-burn of the narrative may be unbearable for some. 

Verdict

The best word to describe The Revenant would be 'powerful'. It's a film that will leave you emotionally drained, but one which is well worth viewing at least once. Multiple viewing aren't really necessary, because it's a story that only needs telling a single time. The slow pace of the story and the out-there delivery of some sequences may put off some viewers, but it's still worthy of your time and money. 

"As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. 

You breath...keep breathing." 

The Hateful Eight: 70mm Is Best?

By now, it's likely that you've seen Tarantino's latest offering, The Hateful Eight. You've walked out of the cinema, satisfied with yet another stellar film from the main man himself, and avidly await the announcement of his next project. What a smaller portion of you may have done, however, was to walk out of Leicester Square after seeing the deluxe, 70mm version of the film. Luckily, I managed to be one of these people. 

Now, I love movies. That might be a reasonably clichéd thing to say, but I'll say it regardless: I really love films. I'm not one of these people who can talk in-depth when it comes to the actual production side of cinema, though. Because of that, I'm not going to go in detail when it comes to what actually goes in to the 70mm version of the movie; I'll come off like an idiot. I can go through it in basic terms, though: Basically, when a film is...well, filmed, it is then converted into digital footage to be shown to the masses in cinemas. With the special 'Roadshow' production of The Hateful Eight, however, Leicester Square Odeon is showing the film on reels - like cinemas used to do decades ago. 

But what does this actually mean? Well, it means that the movie looks like an old-timey film. In that, I mean you can see all the wonderful grain and imperfections that a digitally shown movie lacks; giving the cinematic experience an oddly real, palpable feel to it. The colours are deeper, and the contrast between them is a joy to behold. In terms of how you're actual experience will change, though, that's equally significant. After a brief introduction from one of Odeon's staffmembers, you're treated to a three-minute Overture, which consists of music pieced together from the film itself - this sets the mood, and gets you excited to begin. 

Halfway through The Hateful Eight, things fade to black, and the audience is then presented with an "Intermission" slide. During a movie, this kind of interruption is practically unheard of (in modern cinema, at least), but it feels perfect when watching a movie that's essentially a cinematic stageplay. Also, this makes Tarantino's eventual narration feel somewhat justified, if still a little peculiar. 

The final bonus of seeing the film in this context is the free programme given to the audience beforehand, which contains set photos, character profiles, and other titbits of information which just beef up the whole experience. It might seem like I've used the term "experience" a lot during this, but that's because it's exactly what it feels like. In a time when going to the cinema has become commonplace, it's nice to try something new (though technically very old). 

Should you see The Hateful Eight in 70mm if you can? Yup. You definitely should. 

The Hateful Eight (Review) - A Tarantino Wet Dream

Describing the plot of The Hateful Eight sounds like something straight out of a Tarantino fan's dreams. You've got yourself a handful of hugely talented actors commonly associated with Tarantino - with the likes of Tim Roth, Bruce Dern, Walton Goggins, Kurt Russell, and, of course, Samuel L. Jackson - all locked in a small cabin for a few nights, left with nothing to do but look shadily at eachother and throw anecdotes all over the place. 

If you were to actually describe the plot, however, it'd go something like this: John 'The Hangman' Ruth (Kurt Russell) is transporting dastardly criminal Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) across Wyoming to a small town called Red Rock, where he plans to have Daisy executed for her crimes. Along the way, The Hangman picks up travellers Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and Sheriff Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins). Together, the four head for Red Rock, but a storm forces them to seek shelter in a small, isolated cabin: Minnie's Haberdashery. Now, The Hangman isn't entirely pleased with this, what with Daisy's bounty being exceptionally high, and so he doesn't trust any of the seven other men inhabiting the cabin. One thing leads to another, and soon the mystery begins to unravel. 

What is perhaps most unique about The Hateful Eight when stood alongside Tarantino's other movies is that it takes place almost entirely within a single room. I'm aware that Reservior Dogs plays with a similar concept, but that film didn't clock in at almost three hours runtime; this does. Because of this, the film feels more akin to a stageplay than a traditional Tarantino flick, and is all the better for it. It could've been easy to capture the violent, action-packed lightning that is Django Unchained, but this is a very different beast. Things are far more foreboding, which makes the inevitable violence pack a bloody punch. 

And the violence is certainly bloody. I'd go as far to say that it is quite probably the most violent Tarantino film to date, despite the violence itself being isolated to the latter half of the movie. Heads literally explode at times, and that alone should let you know what you're in for. There's also plenty of profanity and, controversially, racial slurs littered throughout. Of course, racist vocabulary is far from desirable in real life, but the contextual nature of the film means that it would be anything but acceptable to omit it from the script. Most of this is targeted at Samuel L. Jackson's character (being the only black man out of the Eight), but he gives just as good as he gets. Like Django Unchained, the script is shocking, but hilariously entertaining. 


The solitary conditions that the film plays out in mean that it requires some hefty performances from its cast to remain interesting, and these are most certainly found. Every single inhabitant of Minnie's Haberdashery is fleshed out and personified by their respective actor, and there's never a moment in Hateful Eight's staggering runtime that I found myself feeling bored. You're drawn in to the story from the moment you lay eyes upon the bitter Wyoming countryside, and things don't let up until the credits roll. 

The version I saw was at a regular screening, so I can't speak to the 70mm or its effect on the overall experience. There's a certain moment in the film which follows on from the intermission found in the longer cut, however. Without the intermission in the regular version, this moment that follows the transition felt a little unusual. I won't spoil why, but a certain narration seems more comical than endearing without the pause, and it almost feels like it should have been removed for the wide-spread release. 

Verdict
While The Hateful Eight might feel a little slower than previous films by this legendary director, it's far from mundane. Every single scene is packed with tension and intrigue, and will have you guessing at the true motivations of the Eight until everything is revealed. The eventual reveal of the truth isn't even the conclusion to the story however, as Tarantino's iconic 'Chapters' continue further than this, until the story is truly told in its entirety. If you know what you're in for, then this is a bloody good time.

"Room for one more?"