When a resourceful interviewer recently showed up to The Revenant junket bearing gifts, Hardy and his co-star Leonardo DiCaprio were so excited about the contents of the box that they began craning their necks before the interview even started. Both these films showcased exactly how DiCaprio has harnessed early promise and become one of the most bankable and reliable on screen talents.
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The film, which is inspired by true events, is an epic story of survival on the American frontier. While the imagery and music tried to seem like an artsier, deeper reflection on man’s relationship with nature, it made it very jarring when the movie cuts back to Glass channeling his inner Tarantino by murdering everything in his path, despite the absurd amount of injuries that he has.
He survives and sets out to exact revenge on those who abandoned him.
Leo plays legendary explorer Hugh Glass, who is brutally mauled by a bear and left for dead by his own hunting team.
The new flick brings together heart-stopping action scenes by master cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and fabulous footage of a snowy wilderness filmed in natural light.
But Glass’s journey is also an emotional one, fueled by fear, hunger for vengeance and the pain of having lost his entire family.
The Mexican director, who specifically thanked the Native American cast of The Revenant as he picked up his Golden Globes, was also vocal about the controversy surrounding this year’s Academy Awards, with critics noting the lack of black actors up for the biggest awards, and the best-director category all male.
DiCaprio was honoured with the best actor in a drama prize at the Golden Globes last week, and he admitted it was a “complete surprise”.
His first nomination came in 1993 for a breakout role in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape opposite Johnny Depp.
That of Glass is an example par excellence. But it will mean a whole lot more if he wins it for a film that truly deserves it.
“Like these fur trappers, we had to adapt to our environment”.
But it took a seven-month, sub-zero shoot, and a role in which he barely speaks to give him his best shot at finally winning an Oscar.
Then there was the bit with the raw bison liver.
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The Revenant is the one film that has emerged from the unseemly fracas that is the awards race to lead the pack.
