Genius, vision and madness

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2005)

I really enjoyed this one. There were several times during the film where I was just transfixed and enrapt by what I was watching on screen.
This is the second biopic I've seen this year, the other was "Ray." Picking and choosing what part of a life you want to present in order to make a statement was done far more artfully in this than in "Ray". Howard Hughes's life was depicted from the time he started his first film until just after his Senate hearing and Scorsese used it to show how genius, vision and madness can all spring from the same source.
I left the theater surprised that the movie hadn't received better reviews than the one I glanced at, because not only is this Scorsese's best direction, but De Caprio, Kate Blanchett and Alan Alda all turned in Oscar worthy performances. This is, finally, my best film pick of 2004.
If you're on the fence about seeing this one due to it's 3 hour length, the only time I thought about looking at my watch was to assure myself that it wasn't ending too soon. . .