DVD review: The Revenant

Set in the early 19th Century, and nominally based on real-life events and characters, the film focuses on the character of Hugh Glass, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, a trapper whose group is forced to flee when they come under attack from a local tribe of Native Americans.

As the group flee for their lives, with only a few bales of beaver pelts to show for their efforts, things take a turn for the worse for Glass. He stumbles across a mother bear and her cubs and she gives him a good mauling, leaving him shredded and lying on death’s door.

Cue a bit of treachery from an impressively scruffy Tom Hardy who vows to stay with Glass until he dies, allowing the group to continue on their way. Instead kills Glass’s son and leaves the trapper for dead in a shallow grave. Big mistake.

By dint of sheer willpower, Glass drags himself out of cold dirt and across a harsh landscape in search of revenge. He takes on a dangerous and breath-taking trip through untamed surroundings.

This is the role that Leo

finally won an Oscar for and by the look of it, that was a well-earned gong. From crawling through icy rivers to biting a chunk out of raw bison liver, you see every painful element which made Glass’s unlikely survival possible.

DiCaprio’s performance is not the only standout feature though.

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu has crafted an exquisitely realised vision of a striking and deadly world.

The film-maker only shot in natural light and the hard-won result is a beautiful piece of cinematography.

If you let yourself be caught up in the stark drama of the story then The Revenant is one of those movies which can feel like exhausting viewing.

It is well worth the effort though, delivering a film that showcases the resilience of the human spirit in extreme adversity.