Feel the passion!

Rating: 10/10 (4 March 2005)

I saw The Aviator twice long before the backlash and I was captivated both times. So enough is enough. I can't believe the negative things I hear about this movie. I don't want to whine too much and write this huge analysis that's just going to put into words the passion I have for this movie, but I couldn't keep my mouth shut any longer.
The Aviator is one entertaining and gripping film. What is most astounding about the criticisms of this film is that it is called empty and boring (too long many say).
Empty? No way. Maybe it's just me but the most complex and fascinating character on screen this year was Howard Hughes as played by DiCaprio. I'm now piling up the Hughes biographies as I discover the troubled soul that was this man. But he was also a visionary, a revolutionary (ask anybody in the aviation industry and he changed the business), a womanizer yes, but an extremely lonely man at heart. A man of many demons mostly haunted by OCD in what had to be one of the worst cases in known history, Howard Hughes that is. All these contradictions made Hughes the most intriguing character in film this year and I saw a lot of movies. Again maybe it's just me, but I was moved by the character of Hughes. And that last scene (spoiler) in front of the mirror is subtle but emotionally if you felt for the character it tears you apart.
Boring? I guess we didn't see the same film because I was pulled in from start to finish. I love the Hollywood nostalgia, the authentic and spectacular shots of airplanes. The glorious scene of the XF-11 crash in Beverly Hills surpasses the crash from Castaway as we feel we are crashing along with the character of Howard Hughes played by you know who ("I'm going down, I'm going down...that gives me chills). The glamorous Hollywood romances, the Kate Hepburn moments, Ava Gardner, Jean Harlow, Faith Domergue, Hughes teenage lover, Noah Dietrich played by the great John C. Reilly (great moment: when Hughes wants to re-shoot his movie Hell's Angels, Dietrich asks "Which part?", Hughes replies: "All of it")...anyhow all to say that the film is filled with interesting characters, at least I thought so. And how about Alec Baldwin as Juan Trippe, Pan Am's President, that was his best performance in a long time. And let's not forget the trial scene which is as good as any court scene I've scene in some of the best movies, especially as it culminates in the launching of the Hercules, better known to the world as the Spruce Goose.
There's more to say, such as Scorsese's great direction, great art direction, music, cinematography, etc., but I'll stop here. I simply adore this movie and there are many many others like me.