The last time almost anyone heard of Survivor was January 14, 2016 when Leonardo DiCaprio won his overdue Oscar for Best Actor. The general consensus at the time was that due to the harrowing filming process, which included things like eating raw bison liver, risking hypothermia in the Canadian wilderness and, most notoriously, sleeping in a realistic-looking horse carcass supportDiCaprio earned his Oscar through perseverance. But just like Martin Scorsese won Best Picture Gone instead of best film Nice Guysthe story of DiCaprio's victory was that it was also apologeticto make up for his previous losses with great performances in films such as What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Aviator, Blood DiamondAnd The Wolf of Wall Street. Since he was by then a very accomplished actor, and since he had not yet won, the Academy essentially “owed him a debt of gratitude.” Survivordifficulties with filming allowed him Fear factor his way to victory thanks to a performance that may not have deserved it.
Perhaps these detractors were right. After all, 10 years after the premiere on December 25, 2015 Survivor today it is not a major cultural touchstone like many of DiCaprio's films. But this film's argument ignores the fact that on the same night, Alejandro G. Iñárritu won Best Director, Emmanuel Lubezki won Best Cinematography, and the film received numerous other nominations, including Best Picture (which went to Spotlight). Survivor is a powerfully told, heart-wrenching story of revenge and survival. It's also well paced, beautifully shot and a thrilling adventure. Yes, DiCaprio's performance as a character ties it all together, but the film is entirely worthy of its 2015/2016 praise – and completely unworthy of its irrelevance in 2025.
Based on the 2002 novel by Michael Pahnke. SurvivorBased on true events, it follows Hugh Glass (DiCaprio), the most experienced tracker on a fur-pelt expedition. While alone, Glass is attacked by a bear and appears to be at death's door. The expedition's captain, fearing an imminent Native American attack, decides to continue the company's march, but leaves three men with Glass to watch over him as he dies and give him a proper burial. The three are Glass's half-Pawnee son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), Hawk's friend Jim Bridger (Will Poulter), and Native American-hating hunter John S. Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy).
Simply wanting the extra money he was promised, Fitzgerald offers to hasten Glass's approaching death, but when Hawk tries to stop him, Fitzgerald stabs Hawk to death while a helpless Glass watches. While fetching water, Bridger is absent during all this, but Fitzgerald soon informs him that Hawk has escaped and that they are being attacked by the Arikara tribe, so Bridger and Fitzgerald rush off, leaving Glass to die after being quickly half-buried while still breathing. From here on out, it's a revenge story as Glass makes his way through the brutal wilderness to exact revenge on Fitzgerald.
Filmed in the Canadian desert. Survivor reflects much of the natural beauty surrounding the glass, but never betrays it, mainly through contrast. We can see a forest freshly painted white with snow, but it is not Glass sucking rotten meat from a long-dead animal. And while the majestic river flows in front of Glass, we see him brutally cauterize the wound. The film is also shot almost entirely handheld, from crippled eye level, with very few wide shots. As a result, the nature surrounding the glass, although picturesque, always looks like an immediate threat.
Glass's journey through the wilderness is truly fascinating. At one point, he drops a waterfall and gets into a fight with French-Canadian hunters who are holding a local woman hostage as a sex slave and lynching a Pawnee with whom he briefly befriends. In another episode, while Glass is being chased by a hostile Arikara, he and his horse roll off a cliff and manage to survive by landing in a tree. Test after test, Glass persists and continues on his path to kill Fitzgerald.
Hardy is devilish as Fitzgerald, but still quite human, and Poulter is equally effective as the young, frightened but good-hearted Bridger. But Survivor is all about DiCaprio, and he shines not just because of the obstacles during filming, but because he makes you feel every one of them, both real (like the cold) and staged (like the bear attack). There is also a lot of nuance to his character, he is the only one who seems to have an insightful view of the complex relationships with the various Native American tribes. In one human scene, he and Hikook (his Pawnee friend) catch snowflakes with their tongues like children—almost the only moment of respite in the film.
Of course, DiCaprio's other roles, such as the hilariously drugged Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street and desperately clinging to fame Rick Dalton in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood It may be more fun, catchy and memorable, but DiCaprio is at the top of his game in Survivor — and not just because he ate raw bison liver.
