What I Watched -- The Revenant

I grabbed a copy of The Revenant last week at the library.

I didn't remember much of the buzz about it from the time of its release, except that there was a lot of winter, Game of Thrones-style. That much was true. 

There was also a lot of communication by grunting, and a lot of unfortunate incidents involving animals. I don't think I'm giving anything away when I share that the main character, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is mauled by a bear near the beginning. That's what sets up the whole quest for revenge that he goes on later. While he's on his quest, there's a Star Wars-esque evening spent sleeping in site the now-empty gut cavity of a recently killed horse, and catching and eating raw fish like Gollum.  It ends with a very The Grey moment, sort of a breaking-the-fourth-wall reckoning with the main character.

Enough of the references to other movies, although it does seem to be a bit of a compilation.  This movie, standing on its own, was dark, depressing, and full of a bunch of guys who are a lot tougher than I would have been facing the same circumstances.

Bottom line: for a hot summer day, it's not a bad pick, but don't expect to be uplifted.