Critics Rating: 3.5 Stars *

Cast: Leonardo di Caprio, Tom Hardy

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Production:ArnonMilchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent, Keith Redmon, James W. Skotchdopole.

Written by:Mark L. Smith, Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Genre: Action.

Duration:156 Mins

In 1823, an expedition was led by General William Henry Ashley (who finds no mention in the film) and Major Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson),both of whom had founded the Rocky Mountain Fur Company a year prior. Fur trapperHugh Glass (Leonardo di Caprio) signed on for the exploit but certainly not for the grizzly bear attack that historically is said to have left him with a ripped scalp, punctured throat, a broken leg and numerous gashes.

His near-critical condition is an encumbrance in the unforgiving terrain. Andrew Ashley requests for two volunteers to stay behind until Glass' seemingly inevitable demise and to give him a Christian burial. It is an appeal as noble as it is pragmatic. John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) and Glass' half-native son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) stay back. Factually, the men waited for five days until abandoning Glass to his fate. Hawk is a fictitious character, invented for the purpose of dramatization. However, it is his murder before Glass' eyes that sets off the injured yet unbroken man over a journey of many miles until he finds the old crew and particularly the man responsible.

In real life, Glass did not exact any vengeance. The Revenant chronicles the severity of his ordeal in tight close-ups and through harsh weather (some of the film's crew members had to drop out because of the unyielding shooting conditions, which also led to broken equipment). It takes its own time to unwind with surreal flashbacks, extended silences and long, uninterrupted takes leading you to the heart of the horror. Emmanuel Lubezki'scamerawork is natural light and elegance, the only touch of sophistication in a gritty, bare-knucled survival story of unwashed men and unflinching brutality.

The Revenant is visceral, bleak in mood and setting. It is exquisitely mounted but can leave you without closure in the absence of title cards and clarity on Glass' eventual fate (he was said to have been killed by the Aricara Indians in 1833). Liberties have been taken with the extraordinary true story since there is little known about Glass' life other than an ever-expanding legend of his tribulations.

For the actual account, this link may prove useful:

For the cinematic recreation, The Revenant is postcard perfect (still a morbid postcard). It may be a little short on commercial entertainment for the casual viewer but Iñárritu fans will get what was promised to them.