The Aviator 4/5
Chronicling the most passionate side of the mentally disturbed businessman, Howard Hughes, The Aviator, focuses on his innovations and business developments as he becomes a powerful aviation impresario, couched with his lapses of mental anguish and its peculiarities.
At the beginning, we see a young boy who looks too old to be bathed by his mother, but nonetheless, that’s what we see. She cautions him on germs and how his safety is at stake. This message is imprinted on his soul and it shapes his life to the extent that his becomes a virtual prisoner of it.
We see Hughes push the envelope and dream up innovations to enable aircraft to travel faster and higher. That part of his legacy, if accurate, was mostly unknown to me. We also see the flip side of having access to a massive fortune and the power that it brings. He buys people left, right and centre. In one scene, he had his people bring a meteorologist from a nearby university to consult him on when and where the clouds would appear that were needed for his film, Hell’s Angels. Upon meeting the professor, he informs him that he’ll double the university’s salary and make him an employee.
Leonardo DiCaprio's performance as Howard Hughes was something that I had to warm up to. When the film progressed to the point where he began to sport a mustache, I began to see a resemblance to the real Hughes that was missing. Leo’s voice, however, doesn’t have the proper timbre to mimic Hughes, even with the phony Texan accent. One wonders who else could have played the role.
Cate Blanchett plays Katherine Hepburn, then, an established star. Blanchet’s performance might be nominated for best support actress since she is so convincing.
Other actors who have small roles include Gwen Steffani, Jude Law, Alec Baldwin, Ian Holm, Alan Alda, and Kate Beckinsale.
And, we go get to see Hughes pilot the famed “Spruce Goose”, the largest aircraft ever built, as one of the highlights of the film and of his aviation career.
The film ends without taking us to the point where he died in 1976, leaving a few decades for another film, if the rest of his life was interesting enough to warrant another one.
The Aviator is a highly watchable film. At times, watching Hughes meltdown and endlessly repeat himself becomes a bit tiresome, but overall, this is a fine film about one of the most fascinating people from the 20th century.
Article comments
1 - Eric Berlin
I've been interested to read different reviews of this movie, mainly because I feel as though it's a difficult one to describe (and you've done very well with it, by the way).
In a way, discussion of this movie reminds me of discussion of the Harry Potter films. In that case, it was: How close do the movies reflect the books, and does it matter? Here, of course, it's: How close does the movie match the man, and does it matter?
In the case of Hughes, I'm perhaps fortunate to be young enough that I'm not influenced by the flesh-and-blood (I had heard of the Spruce Goose, and little else).
Therefore, I was able to be taken in by this soft-glow Hollywood epic, and enjoyed the ride and was able to believe, in the confines of movie-dom, that DiCaprio was Hughes.
The Aviator was one of the few films that compelled me to research the flesh-and-blood after the credits rolled. It was interesting to see that there were plenty of "adventures" left for Hughes after the point in which the movie ends (though mostly dark ones, to be sure).
From where I stand now, I see the film as a triumph for Scorsese: he manages to highlight the passion and creativity and spirit of a tortured man without ringing a false note.
Finally, I was delighted by the scene at Kate Hepburn's parents' house: a classic nightmare of meeting your best girl's family that anyone will readily relate to.
Eric Berlin
Dumpster Bust: Miracles from Mind Trash
http://dumpsterbust.blogspot.com