Film: The Revenant

Film it was for yesterday, and after I'd done the list - ranking them in terms of their IMDB ratings - two tied at the top: Room and The Revenant. I was torn.. but the Evening Standard film review on Friday, which covered both, preferred The Revenant. And with all the Oscar hype around it - well, I felt somewhat obliged. It's showing in Cineworld Wandsworth - now my closest cinema - so I booked there, which is cheaper than buying on the spot.

I got a lift back from the Guildford office, which was handy, as she dropped me within walking distance of the cinema. I was quite early, so decided to grab a bite beforehand in one of the several eateries at the entrance - Prezzo looked the most promising. With hardly anyone there, I was quickly served.. I recall that being my main gripe the last time I ate at Prezzo: but that was in the West End, and packed. Last night was much easier, and I was soon fed - although honestly, the garlic bread was a bit tasteless, and I don't think I'd bother again. The pollo carbonara was good, with deliciously tender chicken, although a bit overpowered by the cheese topping. Star of the meal, however, was dessert - I was torn between the hazelnut cheesecake and the mint cheesecake, finally plumping for the mint. Good choice - it was divine, with layers of mint and chocolate, and mint buttons on top. Definitely must have again!

After all that, I was still in plenty of time for the film - unfortunately, because the screen wasn't ready. I needed the loo, but it took me a while to notice there was one in the lobby, where I was waiting. And so I relieved myself - pity there wasn't any soap, and only one hand dryer was working. Anyhoo, by that time the screen had been cleaned, and in I went. Despite the near-emptiness of the screen at that time, I wasn't tempted to change my chosen seat - I'd chosen carefully, a row about halfway, seat on the aisle. Just as well I didn't change - by the time the film started, the place was very nearly full: which is good going for a Monday night in January.

The Revenant is based on the incredible true story of Hugh Glass (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), a frontiersman in North American at the start of the 19th century. The essentials of the story are that he was guiding a party of fur trappers through enemy "red injun" country when he was attacked by a bear and severely mauled. Left behind by the party, he was abandoned and left for dead by the two who had been tasked with caring for him, but overcame overwhelming odds to survive and search for Tom Fitzpatrick (played by Tom Hardy), the man he blamed for leaving him.

This film is epic. Directed by Alejandro Inárritu, who was also responsible for last year's Best Picture Oscar winner, Birdman, I guess you could classify it as a Western. You rarely see one quite like this, though. Inárritu is a highly original director, and this is a long, dark journey of the soul. I expected the scenery to be exceptional, and, with shooting taking place in a variety of locations in Canada, the United States, Mexico and Argentina, I wasn't disappointed. You are never allowed to forget it - the snowy mountains are always looming above, and in some of the most incredible camerawork I've seen, we're always at ground level, at river level - right in the action, made to feel small against the immensity of the landscape. And the director's insistence on using natural light helps set us in place.

The intensity never lets up, through all of its 2.5 hours. We go from injun attack to bear attack to blizzard.. The acting is incredible. DiCaprio has certainly earned his Oscar nomination - apparently, the conditions on set were atrocious, with Inárritu determined to have things as realistic as possible. So they were cold, and wet - and DiCaprio, despite being vegetarian, had to eat liver for one scene, tear chunks out of a fish, straight from the river, in another. And you really believe he's a hardened mountain man. Hardy is absolutely electrifying to watch, as ever. And, as mentioned in the Standard review, Domhnall Gleeson, who plays the expedition captain, brings an unexpected authority to the role, considering roles he's played before.

It's like a Beckett play, actually. Dialogue is minimal, and the scenery generally bleak - pure white snow, individual characters starkly outlined against it. Not what you'd call a date movie, the hardship the characters undergo is never-ending: attacks by soldiers on the Native Americans, attacks by the Native Americans on the soldiers and fur trappers, attacks by the white men on each other, bears, steep cliffs to climb, fast-flowing rivers, blizzards. You wonder how anyone could come out alive. But all the while, you're confronted by stunning beauty, and the most ominous soundtrack I can remember in anything.

Best Picture Oscar nomination well deserved. Acting Oscar nominations well deserved. Cinematography and sound Oscar nominations well deserved, ditto costume and makeup. I think it's a travesty that the score didn't get a nod, but then I haven't heard all the others. This is a film that will be remembered - and I can recommend it, as long as the gore and general bleakness don't put you off.

I doubt I'll see anything as disturbing for the rest of the week..The rest of next week is Meetups - somewhat making up for a sparcity of them, of late! Tonight, I'm going to a play about North Korea - P' Yong Yang is showing in the Finborough: ironically, walking distance from my old flat. The London Dramatic Arts Meetup is going, too - and although I didn't get my ticket from them, the organiser has been kind enough to include me on their list. Lovely to get to go to something with them - it's been ages!

Tomorrow, I got in nice and early for one of those Crick Crack Club meetings that are always selling out. Fairytales for Grownups: Solomon and Sheba takes place in The Forge. And I don't have to pass through Waterloo (yippee!). On Thursday, I'm back with Let's Do London - for less!, who are off on a cheery outing to This Will End Badly, at Southwark Playhouse. Which is closer to my new place. On Friday, I'm back with the World Music Meetup for a concert I'm very much looking forward to - Sufi Chants from Andalusia. On Saturday I'm attending what I think will be my very first Meetup with the Spooky London group, who are running a convivial evening chat about vampires. And on Sunday, I'm with London's Secrets, Tales and Legends, for an enticing walk in Highgate, entitled The Village of the Damned: Ghosts, Drugs and Legends. What a week - most of my favourites in there somewhere!