The Tale

After a long time and a lot of work, Leonardo DiCaprio has finally won an Oscar for his work in “The Revenant”. DiCaprio was first nominated 22 years ago for an Academy Award.

The 41-year old star gave a very heartfelt speech last night, mainly stemming from global warming and climate change.

“Making ‘The Revenant’ was about man’s relationship to the natural world, a world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow,” he said.

Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters or the big corporations, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people who will be most affected by this, for our children’s children, and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed.

I thank you all for this amazing award tonight. Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted.

DiCaprio launched the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1988. He started it to support environmental and sustainability issues, in which has granted over $30 million to projects in over 44 countries.

In “The Revenant” DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, a fur trapper who survives a bear mauling and then travels hundreds of miles to get revenge on a man who betrayed and abandoned him.

Sarah from Lainey Gossip Entertainment had this to say about the film:

The technical aspects of The Revenant are insane—this is a gorgeous film to look at. The cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman, Gravity) is absolutely stunning, Stephen Mirrione’s (Birdman) editing is sharp, and though DiCaprio is the one digging in the dirt for an Oscar, it’s Tom Hardy and Domhnall Gleeson—who is in everything this year—who really stand out. Hardy stars as Fitzgerald, a racist pioneer douchebag and the source of all Glass’s problems—well, besides the bear—and Gleeson is Captain Henry, the soldier responsible for their trapping expedition. But it’s DiCaprio’s show as he’s alone on screen for much of the movie, and he makes sure to get your attention by Acting! To! The! Max! (The Revenant, aka ACTING!: The Movie.) He gives a physically committed performance, but he doesn’t come across half as naturally as Hardy or Gleeson.

There are scenes in The Revenant that work really well, like the opening First Nations attack on the trapping party. It’s brutal and fast and bloody, and director Alejandro González Iñárritu utilizes the same continuous-take technique as he did in Birdman, which makes it feel visceral and chaotic. It’s a tremendous scene, and the amount of craft that went into it pays off. But most of the two and a half hour-plus run time is dedicated to DiCaprio staring into the middle distance, which is indulgent nonsense. The movie is markedly more engaging when the focus is on anything else, including the horse carcass. (The Revenant, aka Reverse Horse Birth.)

My Take

DiCaprio is one of my favorite actors of all-time. It was great to see him finally win an Academy Award. He has gone from wacky movies like “Romeo and Juliet” to mind-shattering films like “Inception” and now he has finally reached the pinnacle of his hard work.

As an actor, his work has been nothing short of iconic and the fact that DiCaprio can play in so many different roles makes it all of the more special. Some people may say that they didn’t really enjoy “Titanic” or a couple other of his movies, but he literally has brilliant in so many different genres. “Wolf of Wall Street” was spectacular.

I’m way too impressed with Leo’s knowledge of the environment and dedication to Native American culture. Many other actors would just get into a role and turn away from it as soon as they are done filming. He has gone beyond that. He has embedded himself within the role, learned the language of the people that he filmed with, and then spoke up for them amongst an audience who has been blind to their struggle.

His call to action to protect native lands was absolutely beautiful and we should all take note.

“It is time that we recognize your history and that we protect your indigenous lands from corporate interests and people that are out there to exploit them,” DiCaprio said. “It is time that we heard your voice and protected this planet for future generations.”

DiCaprio is a true ally in the struggle for oppressed people. He has awakened the activist hearts of the American public and even if he didn’t win the Oscar for “The Revenant”, he is still a great human being and for that he should be commended. Thank you for being a great human being Leo, I appreciate you.