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Movie: The Aviator
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale
Directed by Martin Scorsese; Written by John Logan
(Warner Bros/Miramax)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes
Martin Scorsese has spared no expense in making this movie larger than life, much like Howard Hughes himself might have done. The good news is that his ambitious biopic really soars. I always knew who Howard Hughes was, but I'm too young to have experienced his glory years directly. This film comes as close to being there as possible I am sure. The period costumes, swing music and the 30s to 40s ambiance are as nearly perfect as can be. The heady world of ever-faster aeroplanes that Hughes lived in was definitely larger than life, rather like what space exploration was in the 60s, but he also was a big name during Hollywood's Golden Age and the film brings that home too.
Scorsese spends only one short scene on Hughes's childhood, setting us up for his relentless eccentricities later in life. From there the story jumps directly into his movie career and the audience is left to assemble a few clues about how this headstrong man inherited the drill bit company his father set up. What's clear though is that he parlays his fortune into a hit movie featuring the most realistic dogfight sequences ever filmed. Hell's Angels took him three years and it was also the most expensive movie made in Hollywood at that point. He could have continued with movies but his real passion was for airplanes. At one point he was the fastest man in the world, and probably the most famous, too. The movie also makes him out to be a design genius, though other aircraft companies like Douglas, Lockheed, Curtis and Boeing made most of the best remembered planes from that era. Hughes was more of a specialty aircraft maker. As an airplane freak I am familiar with a lot of these planes and the good news is that they are authentically rendered. It's stunning work but mostly CGI. For example the Spruce Goose never got more than 15 feet off the water, but they show it high above Long Beach Harbor. However, the Hell's Angels biplanes and Hughes's Curtis flying boat might have been real machines, and it was fun to see them.
Much as I like aircraft, the most interesting part in the movie is about his years in Hollywood, especially his romance with Katherine Hepburn, which I had been unaware of. Kate is played by Cate Blanchett, who is simply deadly as that quintessentially independent modern woman. She's a shoo-in for the Oscar for Best (Supporting?) Actress. Hughes attracted all kinds of stars to his side and the movie chronicles his struggles to have a private life even when the flash bulbs are going off. Later in the movie Kate Beckinsale appears as Ava Gardner. She redeems herself for her part in the atrocious Van Helsing, but while perfectly coy and glamorous, she doesn't hold a candle to Blanchett.
The ultimate driving force in the plot is Hughes's ambition to be the biggest airline tycoon and he contends for that title with Juan Tripp of Pan American, played by Alec Baldwin. Hughes tries to leap ahead of Tripp with a more advanced airliner, the Constellation, but almost lets his empire collapse after his near-fatal crash in his prototype spy plane. The movie doesn't explicitly state it but most sources say this caused him to become addicted to morphine, however it does show him retreating into near madness during this period.
Hughes manages to pull out of the tailspin long enough to survive a Senate inquiry on the cost of his giant transport. Perhaps the hearing scenes are a bit over dramatized, like the high flight of the Spruce Goose, but it's clear that he beats Tripp and saves his reputation. The movie ends soon after the point of his greatest triumph, foreshadowing just a bit of the long years Hughes spent as a recluse.
Scorsese ensures the film is quite engrossing in spite of its length. For his part Leonardo DiCaprio may finally win an Oscar. He's always played young and headstrong well, but here he finally has a chance to descend into a complex character that fascinates us all. The Aviator wouldn't be half of what it is without his performance.
The Skinny:
Did I enjoy the movie? I loved the view from up there.
Would I go to see it again? Once was enough on the big screen, but I'll probably take several flights on the small one.
© 2005 - Rusty Pipes