Academy Award Preview — The Revenant


Today I continue my preview of the Academy Awards with a look at one of the favorites, "The Revenant."

The Revenant
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, and Domhnall Gleeson
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Total Nominations: 12
Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Actor (DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Hardy), Best Director (Iñárritu), Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Hair and Makeup, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Production Design
About: The Best Picture race might be one of the most wide open races in years. There are half a dozen of films that could win out of a field of eight nominees. But one of the strongest ones is "The Revenant." Last year Iñárritu won Best Director and saw his movie, "Birdman," win Best Picture. I think there's a strong possibility of a repeat in February 28. "The Revenant" is a good movie and it's well made. It was also a difficult film to make, and that narrative matters. "The Revenant" will win awards, the question is just which and how many. I think DiCaprio will finally win an Oscar for this role. He's the favorite by a good margin, and it just feels like his year. As I said, I think Iñárritu is a favorite to win Best Director and this film is one of the best bets to win Best Picture, too. That would be quite a haul. I also think "The Revenant" is likely to win Best Cinematography, and there's a good chance it wins the Editing award. The conventional wisdom is a lot of the technical awards will go to "Mad Max: Fury Road." That would be a safe choice. But in terms of visual effects, I wonder if this movie might sneak in. The grizzly bear attack, which is one of the most striking and impressive sequences in the film, is entirely computer generated. That's an incredibly achievement. There is no bear. I was shocked to hear that after watching the film. That is one of the reasons why I think that it's possible that is enough to get it over-the-top in that category, too.
Rating: R for strong frontier combat and violence including gory images, a sexual assault, language and brief nudity.
Verdict: Three stars out of four.
Where to See It: "The Revenant" is now playing in theaters nationwide.

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