Last Monday morning
(India Time) a beaming Julianne Moore put a million fans , sitting on the edge
of their seats (not me obviously, cause it was Monday morning and I was in
Court) , all over the world, out of their misery when she presented the Oscar
to Leonardo DiCaprio. It was an epic moment which was almost 12 years in the
making and it reduced the world into a sobbing proud mess, just like Leo's
darling BFF, Kate Winslet. Well about time, I say, cause this "LEO
DESERVES AN OSCAR" mania reached its peak this year, and we all know about
the little Android (?) game that was doing the rounds in the weeks preceding
the Academy Awards.
Most girls my age in
India were introduced to "Jack", a long time ago in the James Cameron
epic, Titanic. From then on, I made it my mission in life to try and watch as
many of his movies as possible, and I must say I was not disappointed. Whether
it was Jack, or King Louis XIV, or Frank Abagnale Jr. or Howard Hughes (which
earned him his first Oscar nomination), he lived and breathed every role and
made it all extremely believable. I suppose with him, its always been 200%
every role, and every movie.
Then came 2006, the year
DiCaprio showed everyone he can act in two very different movies and also
master two extremely different accents in The Departed and Blood Diamond. Yup,
let me start gushing about Blood Diamond, believe me, I cant ever stop raving about
that movie. Leo played the role of Danny Archer a cut throat mercenary who in
the end gets a change of heart and ultimately helps a fisherman reunite with
his family. His performance left me sobbing at the end, when he says, "I
am exactly where I am supposed to be". I also almost sobbed when he dint
win the Oscar that following year, but I must admit Phillip Seymour Hoffman
deserved it for his scintillating performance in Capote.
So when he finally won the Academy Award on Monday I resolved to go watch the Revenant and come home and write out a post dedicated to Leo. However, after the movie, I realised that writing about Leo and not writing about the movie would leave this post incomplete. The Revenant is a gripping tale of revenge, it is a tale of what happens when one man decides to brave all that nature has to throw at him and almost come back from the dead to avenge his son's death. It's intriguing, its primal, and it shows man at one with nature, and the lengths one man would go to just survive. The movie is not for everyone. It's one of those movies where you'll either love or completely hate.
The story, the locales
and the acting are brilliant. Alejandro G. Iñárritu who directed last year's Birdman gave
us an epic, man vs. nature, thoroughly captivating trip. Kudos for that, and he
deserved all the Awards he picked up.
Tom Hardy deserves a pat
on his back for the wonderful potrayal of
John Fitzgerald. He was the perfect anti-hero to Leo's bear fighting Hugh
Glass. Will Poulter (that stuck up kid from the last Narnia movie) provided
great support to the leading cast in his supporting yet, extremely crucial role
of Bridger.
Leo deserves this year’s
Academy Award not for braving the cold temperatures, not for eating raw Bison
liver, not for sleeping inside an animal carcass, not for sitting through hours
of make- up everyday, but for the sheer grit, determination and passion with
which he became Hugh Glass. His eyes reflected the anguish a parent suffers
when their child is murdered in front of their eyes while they lie helplessly
unable to do anything. He, practically, rose from the dead, like a revenant, to
avenge his son's death, with only his dead wife's memories hauntingly egging
him on. This powerful story needed telling and I am glad it was told. Also a
special Honorable Mention here goes to the Bear, my dear, you
were magnificent, truly magnificent, and also DiCaprio and Hardy's
Beards.
Watch this movie only if
you are absolutely sure that you can stomach it. It is rated A for a reason,
and the reason is not 'sexual' at all.
I give this movie a
4/5.
And finally, OMG OMG OMG
Leo won!!
Come on internet, next
up we have one Mr.Depp (who was nominated this year for Blackmass, an amazing
watch btw) and one Mr.Cruise.
