The Moose Hole - 'The Aviator' Soars!

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2005)

The story for The Aviator resurrects the aberrant life of Howard Hughes and presents it in the grandiose, nostalgic, and mythological style that only Martin Scorsese could have achieved so seamlessly and effectively all at the same time. In spite of its lavish three-hour time length, the film's flow and consistency is never once interrupted by abrupt slow periods, nor does it ever outpace its audience's ability to divulge information at a reasonable pace. Already at this point it is leaps and bounds ahead of the bumbling monstrosity that was Gangs of New York. And although the first few minutes of the picture in which Hughes' mother bathes the young boy in a tub of water in a dimly lit room and speaks to him of avoiding the disease-filled residence of a neighbor may seem a bit awkward when it first starts out, given time it will be made all the more understandable as eloquent symbolism to the sporadic nature of Howard Hughes.
Howard Hughes, whether he be the man, the legend, or quite possibly a combination of the two, truly is the focus of this picture and Leonardo DiCaprio, having been snubbed in years past for his roles in both Titanic and Gangs of New York, captures brilliantly the eccentric aviator's maverick personality and from the very first scenes instantly grapples the attention of his audience in much the same way as Hughes would have wanted it done. Whether or not he receives a golden statuette this time around, let alone receives a nomination at the Academy Awards ceremony, DiCaprio, in the short years since his breakout performance in the smash-hit Titanic, has built up quite an impressive resume none-the-less, especially given that he has actually demonstrated true acting potential rather then simply riding the wave of pure publicity and hype. Cate Blanchett, an especially gifted actress who has rounded up in recent years particularly well-deserved acclaim from critics for her roles in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Veronica Guerin, reflects perfectly the extraordinary, if not often curious, nature of the late-Katharine Hepburn. Alan Alda, famous for his portrayal of Hawkeye Pierce in the acclaimed television series M*A*S*H, proves that in all his years in the glitzy Hollywood business he has failed to lose his touch, giving a brilliantly stark performance as the conniving Senator Ralph Owen Brewster. In a particular scene in which the senator invites Howard to a luncheon meeting in a last ditch effort to avoid a public hearing and have him fold on the refutation of his new aviation bill, he appears as though he takes pleasure in tormenting Hughes' now apparent mental condition, going so far as to pick up a glass at the last minute and place a smudge mark on it directly in Hughes' line of sight. Splendidly Hughes, refusing to be baited and racking his bodily functions to fight back the affects of his mental condition, stuns Brewster by drinking straight out of that glass and forces him to be on the defensive, a position no one, let alone a senator of the United States Congress, finds comfortable. Surely not everything that Hughes did, most notably taking money from the government for projects he never completed or delivered and bribing military contractors, can be defined as just but he can not be blamed entirely for that given that those were the sign of the times. If anything, this investigation brought about a change in the way the aviation industry would be dealt with and Hughes' stern rebuttal of Brewster's true intentions single-handedly restored the idea of capitalism in yet another branch of the U.S. industrial system.
Overall, The Aviator, in much the same light as its subject of discussion, is larger then life itself and for what seems once in a blue moon on the screen that does not go aggressively against it, ensuring its rightful place as the film to beat this awards season. The film ends rather abruptly with Hughes standing directly in front of a grungy bathroom mirror, repeating the phrase "wave of the future", and should the audience feel angered or disappointed by this conclusion then Martin Scorsese will have successfully pulled off his desired effect. True to form, the life of Howard Hughes' was never the same again from that moment on. For the mythic man who had done so much in his lifetime up to that point and at the same time had far more yet to accomplish, Hughes' condition spiraled out of control, reducing him to live in total obscurity in one of his several casinos in Las Vegas, dying of kidney failure. That, ladies and gentlemen, is truly the disheartening conclusion to the eccentric, yet majestic, life of Mr. Howard Hughes. The man who perhaps was greatly overshadowed by the legendary figure he helped create and whose shoes he could not fill. Scorsese, a man always willing to be daring and take a risk when it comes to the exact look and feel of a particular film, brilliantly  how many times can that be said of him  captures in each year that is represented the accurate visual style of the color film of that time period, whether it was the old-fashioned Cinecolor or the two-strip Technicolor film. And as the story progresses, the film's appearance matures and fills out more, giving The Aviator a visual quality all its own, setting its miles apart from the competition. Undoubtedly this film will not be everyone's cup of tea, as disappointing as that may be to hear given as how apparently masterful it is, but rest assured that given the proper number of viewings and a through understanding of the life and time of the man who was Howard Hughes, it will be easy for anyone to see as to why this will be the film that gives Scorsese his absurdly overdue Academy Award this year.