The Real Takeaway from ‘The Revenant’s Bear Scene

DiCaprio’s “The Revenant” doesn’t reach theaters until Dec. 25, but early word about the film’s most harrowing sequence caught the pop culture zeitgeist all the same.

Long story short: the Oscar nominee got molested by a massive grizzly bear. Or did he?

The Revenant Official Teaser Trailer #1 (2015) - Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy Movie HD

Like most Internet memes, this one didn’t have much truth to it. Yes, an early scene in the movie finds DiCaprio’s character fending off a vicious bear attack. And at a few points it’s a bit fuzzy what the behemoth is doing to the character, who is lying on his stomach during the assault.

It’s clearly not what social media told us, though. What it is, however, is so authentic you might spend weeks wondering, “how did they do that?”

In short, that’s where we are in terms of special effects. The Hollywood wizards who make the impossible a reality can do just about anything on screen.

ALSO CHECK OUT: DiCaprio Need Not Worry About Climate Change

Director Alejandro Inarritu, along with his FX team, deliver a minutes-long sequence that never once feels inauthentic. Maybe it’s the ferocity of the moment, or DiCaprio’s performance, but it’s something audiences will be talking about beyond the bear’s amorous intentions.

The actor admitted the sequence demanded plenty out of him. That’s impressive since he also shot the FX heavy “Ttitanic” feature near the start of his career.

“[Those scenes]—amongst many other sequences—were some of the more difficult things I’ve ever had to do in my entire career,” DiCaprio told Yahoo!. “But the end result is going to be one of the most immersive experiences audiences will ever have with what it would be like to come face-to-face with an animal of that magnitude that is incredibly primal.”