The life and times of Howard Hughes are portrayed in a new film by Martin Scorsese. Starring the baby-face of Hollywood, Leonardo Di Caprio as the film maker; aviator; playboy and obsessive-compulsive, Howard Hughes himself. Where many dreamt of making the future, he actually went ahead and attempted it. Most people considered him a crackpot, but in the end he often proved them wrong.
The Aviator has amassed a number of awards, and is already likely to be headed for a sweeping Oscar success. Di Caprio’s portrayal of Hughes is interesting as I have never read anything on Hughes’s personality, and so can only take what was offered on screen. I can say that Di Caprio doesn’t resemble Hughes physically, as he was a more dashing, and more mature looking fella. It’s to the detriment of Di Caprio’s never aging face that he doesn’t quite pull of Hughes visually. In terms of mannerisms, such as his compulsive fear of germs from others, his intricate nature in which his peas are laid out, the way he cuts his meat and so on are all included. This all adds to the character of Hughes which is well enough performed by Di Caprio.
Credit also to Cate Blanchett who has received flak from Hepburn fans, but what do they really know? I thought her edge, staunch performance was quite brilliant – and as she stated herself, she was never trying to be Hepburn, but her own interpretation of how she might have been outside of the world of film. Her characters is charming as well as despicable, yet honest about the self-indulgence of fame that troubles her.
The romance with Di Caprio is a little odd to watch, possibly because Di Caprio looks so young, that he probably requires breast feeding. I am glad that the dim and untalented likes of Kirsten Dunst or any of these younger female leads without talent were not chosen for the role, as Blanchett does an admirable job. Recieving praise from her peers, being nominated for every award that’s available as well as applauded by Hepburn’s closest friends will only propel her as an A-list celebrity, just as her performance in Elizabeth set her on the path to stardom.
In the end, The Aviator is a film about one man’s passion to achieve the American Dream not as the American Dream, but his own
Baldwin plays the same character he’s played his entire life, and it’s unfortunate we don’t see him depart from the USA, just as he said he would had Bush been elected. The hypocrisy of this man only adds to the weight of his lack of acting ability; that same husky voice talking in that same monotone pitch. With every film, he seems to be increasing in weight, and perhaps it’s possible he will be the new Stay Puft marshmallow man in a Ghostbusters remake (hey, anything is possible).
Alan Alda is brilliant as the snake Senator Ralph Owen Brewster, in cahoots with Pan Am owner Juan Trippe (Baldwin) in an attempt to take out the competition that is Howard Hughes’s TWA. The battle between the two is entertaining to watch, and you feel for the working underdog Hughes. Even Kate Beckinsale puts in a great performance as Ava Gardner, and there are no signs of her manly large hands – instead she looks elegant and beautiful. Gwen Stefani’s appearence is less than exhilirating, but there’s no doubt she has a certain celebrity beauty to her, away from all that punk make up and raggedy clothing she’s so used to displaying for her teen fans.
In all, the recreation of the late 1920s and the later 40s (I think) is created with a serious amount of panache. The entire film has a soft, charismatic charm about it – it’s entertainment, but it’s classy entertainment, harking back to good old story telling. At nearly three hours long though, I was bored for several moments, and was close to falling a sleep. It’s not edge of the seat entertainment, but it’s a very well crafted drama. Action and special effects do take place, but these are in short supply. The trailer suggests more flying than is actually in the film – at most 20 minutes worth, maybe 30 at best. This isn’t a problem though, as for the first time in many years, I actually enjoyed Di Caprio’s performance. Is it award winning? I wouldn’t say so, but I do think he has improved a great deal and worthy of some praise for all the critcism that will be levelled at him by those who simply hate him for the sake of hating him.
The romance with Di Caprio is a little odd to watch, possibly because Di Caprio looks so young, that he probably requires breast feeding
In the end, The Aviator is a film about one man’s passion to achieve the American Dream not as the American Dream, but his own. His relentless flaws only cement his reputation as someone who was human, and made mistakes along the way. He may have been as mad as a hatter to many people, but in the end is true passion of aviation (though women came very close) was the driving force in facing the dirty tactics that the opposition would use against him. Though Hughe’s was no saint himself (the infamous Nixon support being the perfect example), he was never the less a real person that went beyond the norm to push forward boundries when everyone else would settle for second best.
I personally do not rate Scorsese a great director, but this film certainly ranks with his earlier works in creating a sentimental (but never saccharine) story of a man’s desire to reach his best. Direction is a rather choppy at first, but it soon settles and we’re given some really wonderful shots allowing the on screen performance to set the mood and tell the tale. This is perhaps the best we can expect on the life of Howard Hughes; though a 3 hour digest of his life, and missing out some fairly cruccial elements that affected his life, it certainly manages to entertain the viewer for most of the film with a fully captivating cast. Perhaps not his greatest work, but definitely one of his best.
Verdict: Entertaining biopic of a pioneer in aviation played by Di Caprio, with splendid support from Blanchett