Actually, “The Revenant” is tied with “Spotlight” for best movie of 2015, and either one would make a great choice for Best Picture. Right now, “The Revenant” is defying my wildest expectations at the box office, and I never dreamed it would make over 100 million and so many people would get to see it. I’m glad that so many are getting to see what I believe to be a truly unique theater experience.
What Works: You need to see this in a theater, and this is one of those few films (like “Gravity” or “Interstellar”) that I just don’t think would be nearly as good at home. Instead of space, it’s set in a wilderness landscape that might as well be space for how much it resembles our own world, and I think that lends “Revenant” a weirdly spiritual, otherworldly aspect.
In addition to haunting scenery, there’s first-class, “you-are-there” cinematography with the “Birdman” director using those same long tracking shots to capture horseback chases, battles, and a thrillingly realistic bear attack that is impossible to look away from. One of my personal favorite scenes is the opening raid that plunges us right into the 1820s.
And even though Tom Hardy’s villain is despicable, he’s also weirdly rational and never less than compelling. Still, it’s Leonardo’s movie, and all his transitions–man vs. nature, man vs. man, man vs. himself–will earn him his first Oscar.
What Doesn’t: This is a real “love it or hate it” experience, and some may shy from the movie’s violence and sometimes ponderous nature. I didn’t.
What I Would Have Done Differently: The beginning is better than the ending, but this is still a movie that will stay with you for a long while. One of the few memorable cinematic experiences I had in 2015, undeniably cinematic and worthy of a big screen.
This is a movie that needs to be seen! Great picture.