The Revenant Review
RYAN: This movie blew my mind. It’s directed by Alejandro Inarritu who won the Oscar in 2015 for directing Birdman. I don’t know how one man can make two movies like this, two years in a row! They’re both so different, innovative in their own ways, cool, amazing. I was gasping at some of the shots he accomplished. He edits in this one. There’s action going on in a 360 degree environment as the camera moves around – there is just as much planning and camera choreography in this as in Birdman. So impressed.
CHUCK: I know this is a PG-rated website but Holy &%$#! I’ve never seen anything like this. The trailer is a bit mysterious. And the film takes you on a journey to the past; it’s another world. And the director accomplishes something that seems impossible. The beginning of the film with those 360 degree shots – it was like he was using Google maps.
RYAN: The depth of field and the extras with tasks far away, so much is going on. There’s so much information in the shots.
CHUCK: I don’t know how he staged that.
RYAN: And that’s the the thing… it is all staged, planned. So much organization went into that. I’m overwhelmed by it and they must have taken forever to set up.
CHUCK: Totally. So much was going on all at once. Plus there are practical effects and CGI effects.
RYAN: The timing is…
CHUCK: a miracle.
RYAN: And then there is Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy who are both giving it all in these roles. This is Leo’s year. What he did with this character is nothing short of transformative.
CHUCK: He acts so much and often by saying so little. There’s is just complete commitment – of course they were shooting in freezing conditions, so that must help with the physicality of the role.
RYAN: But the scene with the bear involved so much of him to sell it as believable. The special effects are wonderful but that scene is all Leo acting. He’s almost like a dancer in that scene to make it so real.
CHUCK: There had to be other things involved. It was crazy. Leo’s at the pinnacle of his craft in this.
RYAN: His eyes are so expressive. He acts through the camera. And then Tom Hardy does a great old American accent. He could also be a contender this year.
CHUCK: Tom really disappeared into the role – I never even recognized him in it. He came to of nowhere, to me, with such chops, skill and artistry. And back to the opening scene, it’s almost like a kind of Saving Private Ryan.
RYAN: I know! It was intense.
CHUCK: I wasn’t expecting it to be brutally violent. But this was the frontier. This is what men went through, dealing between the Native Americans and the Settlers. It was rough. It wasn’t the musical Oklahoma!
RYAN: Indeed not. And the environments are all real. And they used only natural lighting which really works in adding to the reality of the film.
CHUCK: The setting is perfect and the scope is so huge.
RYAN: I think Inarritu could win a second consecutive Oscar. And it’s deserved. He’s so good, out of the gate. His shots are completely ambitious.
CHUCK: I liked this better than Birdman. This is as ingenious, but also restrained. It’s breathtaking.
RYAN: This comes late in the year and races to the top of my list. It’s #1.
