“The Revenant” is more an experience than a movie

I was sitting in my seat, watching one of numberless scenes from “The Revenant” where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character drags his broken body through the inhospitable, snowy woods when something weird happened. I felt cold. It was as if, in that moment, I was in the scene, too. The environment of the movie affected me.

I’ve seen dozens of movies set in cold environs, and I can’t recall this ever happening. Not even when Han Solo stuff Luke Skywalker inside a frozen tauntaun. And Hoth’s COLD, yo. So the fact that “The Revenant” could cause me to wish I was wearing another layer of clothing is kind of special. Then again, you don’t watch “The Revenant” so much as you experience it.

”The Revenant” star Dicaprio as Hugh Glass, a trapper on an expedition with a group of mountain men. While leading the group back to their fort, Glass gets mauled by a bear and witnesses his son killed by Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Left for dead, Glass climbs out of his grave and goes after Fitzgerald for revenge.

Except it doesn’t become just a revenge thriller. It becomes something more than that. It becomes an epic tail of man battling his environment. At times, Nature is absolutely brutal to characters in this film. There’s also a fair amount of psychological stress, because you never know who or what is going to pop up next to ruin Glass’s day.

The acting in this movie is fantastic. DiCaprio gives a tremendous performance, and for most of it, he does it without the use of his voice. His eyes tell you everything you need to know. It takes a lot to make Hardy an unlikable guy, but he’s despicable here. Domnhall Gleeson and Will Poulter also give great performances in supporting roles. But, this movie is all on DiCaprio’s shoulder, and totally carries the day.

”The Revenant” is director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s follow up to “Birdman”, and like “Birdman”, is a masterpiece of filmmaking technique. Inarritu shun’s the hyper fast cuts and shaky camera work of most of Hollywood in favor of fluid, sweeping camera moves and longs takes. The result is a more natural-feeling experience.

Inarritu’s action scenes are just as gripping as normal Hollywood action director, maybe even more since you can tell what’s going on and what the characters geographic relationships to one another are. His camera captures every bit of the brutality onscreen and presents it to us in a way that we can actually take in.

Put that all together, and you have a movie that you feel as much as you watch. You feel the pain of blows characters land on each other. You feel the biting chill in the mountain air. For heaven’s sake, I swear I felt soaked during a scene in which Glass falls into a river. It’s that kind of experience. It draws you in and doesn’t let go.

”The Revenant” is an amazing film that goes beyond just being a movie watching experience. It’s more like going on the most brutal, yet beautiful vacation ever. If you’re looking for a fully immersive cinematic experience, check this movie out ASAP!

4 Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: R