“I ain’t afraid to die anymore. I’d done it already,” says Huge Glass, a frontiersman in the 1820s played by actor Leonardo Dicaprio, after he has been brutally mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own crew. Glass goes on a visually impressive journey to cast revenge/justice on John Fitzgerald, played by Tom Hardy, the man responsible for leaving him to die and the death of Glass’s son. The film is visual poetry to the eyes leaving a powerful effect on its viewer that won’t be forgotten.

Glasses quest to find Fitzgerald is brutal and compelling to watch. It is by far one most visually stunning films ever made. The director Alejandro G. Inarritu said he wanted to shoot the film in natural light and doing extremely long takes cutting as little as possible. Emmanuel Lubezki, cinematographer of the Revenant, achieves that goal creating groundbreaking cinematography, with extreme close ups captured in natural light.

The film also offers impressive visual effects the must notable is the bear attack sequence with Glass. The scene is gruesome and gut wrenching to watch but the bear was digitally added. Glass’s cuts and bruises are done however , through make up artists Sian Grigg, Duncan Jarman, and Robert A. Pandini, who make Glass’s scares realistic to the viewers eye.

As for the actors. Leonardo Dicaprio’s portrayal of Glass is absolutely striking, especially that the amount of dialogue Glass has is at a bear minimum. Dicaprio is left to use his body as a way to express his characters emotions. Tom Hardy shouldn’t be overlooked though. Hardy transformers himself to the character Fitzgerald through make-up and through crafting a character who will stop at nothing to make sure he won’t be tried for his act of betrayal .

The Revenant is a gripping film that will leave an impression on anyone who sees it. It is a visually striking film with performances and technical achievements that won’t be forgotten in the years to come. It’s a story that may be hard to watch but needs to be seen by anyone who wants to have an impression left on them.

Rating: 5 out of 5