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Review

The Aviator

Director

Martin Scorsese

Year

2004

Rating

Reviewed by

José Ruiloba a.k.a. Morris

Review date

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

It seems like director Martin Scorsese has found in Leonardo DiCaprio his Robert De Niro of modern times. Unfortunately, the movies they’ve done together just don’t match Scorsese’s legendary work. One can only wish their next movie together really leaves us floored. That said, it may sound like fake praise, but I’d still rather have one so-so Scorsese than a million trashy Hollywood movies from inexperienced directors.

The movie chronicles the life of mogul Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio) from the 1920’s when he shot his legendary Hell’s Angels (the most expensive movie ever made at that point), to his subsequent career as a filmmaker and businessman, following his fascination towards aviation and the groundbreaking inventions he helped nurture despite countless obstacles. Of course, Howard was also fascinated by beautiful women, namely Hollywood actresses such as Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) and Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale).

Scorsese and DiCaprio had been trying to bring Howard Hughes life to the big screen for years. It required a huge budget, so that’s the main reason it took so long. Fortunately they got financing and shot a movie that justifies every single penny spent. It is a grandiose epic of impressive proportions, spanning almost three decades and bringing glamour to the screen as no recent movie has done.

So why isn’t it a masterpiece? As with most biopics, this movie suffers from the usual syndrome: it is episodic and tries to cram too much into too little. There are subplots that aren’t that interesting so the movie drags at times, especially during its last two thirds. There’s also some repetitive material in there, such as the continuous and tiring showing of Hughes’ descent into madness because of his obsession with germs. It just went a bit too far, and the reappearance of two of his girls from the past during this period just doesn’t fit. Then there are his troubles with competing airline Pan Am and with the Senate. These subplots don’t always work, although the court scenes toward the end do bring a much-needed boost to an otherwise dying movie.

That’s the bad, but there’s also a lot of good. The first hour of the movie is, in one word, brilliant. I wish it could’ve maintained that level. It shows Hughes while on the whole process of shooting Hell’s Angels, its subsequent release and his romance with Katharine Hepburn. It is all perfectly handled, with emotion and nostalgia to spare. Hughes’ sickness only begins to show and it fits perfectly with everything else. A blast!

And then there’s the amazing technical aspects the movie has to offer. Dante Ferretti’s production design is just about the best I’ve seen in that regard this year. And Robert Richardson’s photography is stupendous. Also, Howard Shore’s terrific score blended with recordings of the era. But nothing like Scorsese’s work behind the camera. He truly is a master.

I guess, when everything is said and done, the movie comes off really well because it succeeds in its portrayal of a fascinating and conflicted man who also happened to be one of the most important and influential individuals of the century. Scorsese is able to bring us right there to the moment and help us understand the man and the myth.

An amazing performance by Leonardo DiCaprio also helps us get to know Hughes as he was, at his better or his worse. He might not look exactly like the real Hughes, but he nails the accent, the mannerism and the inner ambition. But it’s Cate Blanchett who steals the movie with her dead-on, absolutely perfect portrayal of the legendary Katharine Hepburn. It is a performance that could’ve bombed, but in Blanchett’s skillful hands, it just soars and elevates the movie. The resemblance is almost scary. In supporting turns, Alan Alda, Kate Beckinsale, Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, John C. Reilly, Ian Holm, Gwen Stefani, Jude Law and Danny Huston all excel. And I’d like to give Matt Ross (as Odie, Hughes’ right-hand aircraft manufacturer) a special mention because he is not well-known and I think he delivers one of the best performances in the movie.

“The way of the future.”

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Other reviews of The Aviator (2004): Groucho

Review

The Aviator

Director

Martin Scorsese

Year

2004

Rating

Reviewed by

Gon Curiel a.k.a. Groucho

Review date

Monday, February 14, 2005

I think The Aviator is a film that had to be done, with an important story to tell, and offering a worthwhile look into a very interesting episode of the world. The story of Howard Hughes is intriguing indeed, on its own, but it’s also surrounded by glamour, progress, and innovation. Few men were as important as Hughes in the twentieth century: He made a fortune out of invention in aviation, and spent much of his time romancing famous women. He made movies that were excessive but good, and didn’t bother Hollywood at all. And he was sick, at least in his mind, with a disorder that made him afraid of inexistent or insignificant things, to a level where he could just stop everything in his life and recluse himself for quite a while.

Martin Scorsese has chose to tell the tale of young Howard, from his earlier years as an entrepreneur to his most glorious days in aviation. Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio) was an anxious man from the get-go, but with enough energy and dreams to make up for the mental wounds he carried since his childhood. The film starts during the filming of Hughes’ Hell’s Angels, up to then the most expensive movie ever made, which also showed the filmmaker’s love for airplanes. Hughes’ life went on as a mixture of love of cinema and love of aviation, and was also adorned by his exuberant way of life, his absent, busy mind, his growing deafness, and his love of women.

John Logan’s script takes us from one episode of Hughes’ life to another like the rollercoaster that was his existence. There was sweeping romance, thrilling adventure, gripping action, and excruciating madness all around. And even though it does avoid monotony, the movie seems overlong. However, it’s interesting at every turn, and effective as a biopic. Plus, it offers loads of pleasure to film buffs, with an impressive resuscitation of movie stars, namely Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) who, according to the film, was Hughes’ true love.

Focusing on the millionaire’s many conflicts, as Kate Hepburn’s lover, as Pan Am’s competitor (with a personal conflict with Juan Trippe, played by Alec Baldwin), as a man questioned by the law (especially Maine Senator Ralph Owen Brewster, played by Alan Alda), and as a prisoner of his own anxieties, The Aviator knows how to tell its tale, and does so magnificently.

The exquisite rendering of time and place sure helps: Photographed as color movies were in each period, with gorgeous costume and production design, atmospheric music to accompany (composed of both period pieces and an inspired score by Howard Shore), and an overall sense of awe, it’s simply amazing.

The performances are also top-notch. There aren’t enough words to describe DiCaprio’s performance. He plays a perfect Howard Hughes: Charming at times, nasty at others, and even disgusting under some circumstances. DiCaprio carries a heavy movie over his shoulders and does so without a problem, and his complex, intense, unforgettable performance is one of the greatest of 2004 (of course some more makeup would’ve helped make his aging process more believable, but at least his performance is not to blame).

Matching him is Cate Blanchett as Kate Hepburn, who made me shiver more than once, since I felt I was really seeing that legendary actress in action once again. The way she managed to recreate Hepburn’s unique way of laughing, talking, walking, and behaving all in all, is a magnificent achievement. Heck she almost outshines DiCaprio!

The other standout is Alan Alda, in an all-star supporting cast comprised by such people as John C. Reilly, Ian Holm, Kate Beckinsale (as Ava Gardner), Jude Law (as Errol Flynn), Willem Dafoe, etc.

The Aviator is an astonishing film… It offers so many things, it’s unbelievable.

“She’ll go faster.”

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Other reviews of The Aviator (2004): Morris