365 Films A Year!

The Aviator is a biopic about the life of Howard Hughes. Directed by Martin Scorcese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio (Scorcese’s new golden boy) as Hughes, it’s a vast, sweeping look at one of the most colorful people in American history.

The problem is that the film demands a fairly decent knowledge of Hughes’ life as a prerequisite to understanding much of its tone. Although we get the sense of Hughes’ eventual fall into madness by the end of the picture, it is hinted at from the beginning in ways that would mean nothing to someone who didn’t already know how Hughes wound up.

On top of that, the film is far too episodic in nature. While things are tied together, they do not flow. It is difficult to discern how much time has passed from scene to scene because few clues are given to indicate it. The result is like a Cliff’s Notes on Howard Hughes, not a true biography. We never really get to know him or the people in his life.

Visually the film is quite stunning. DiCaprio does his usual stellar job and actually captures the essence of Hughes pretty darn well. The same can be said of Cate Blanchette as one of Hughes’ greatest loves, Katherine Hepburn. (I disliked Blanchette in this film in almost exactly the way I disliked Hepburn, so she did a great job.) Other cast members are less memorable and some (such as Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner) simply cannot capture the spirit of their subject.

Now, lest all this belly-aching make you think I found little worthwhile in this film, let me be clear. There’s a lot of good stuff in here. If you know Hughes and want a look deeper inside of his life, this is for you. Just don’t come in without some foreknowledge. The scenes of his life are faithfully re-created and you really get a sense of place (if not, as I said, always of time). And it’s proabably worth a look for DiCaprio alone. As the central figure, of course he holds the movie together. But his performance is strong enough that it is worth seeing once, at least.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 27th, 2009 at 10:31 pm and is filed under 2004, Based on Real Events, Biopic, Drama, Historical. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.