Scorsese no longer great, now just good

Rating: 6/10 (10 January 2005)

To a certain degree, all biographical films are as successful as the audience's knowledge of the character. That has never been more true than with 'The Aviator.' I walked into Martin Scorsese's epic knowing little about the bizarre tycoon Howard Hughes, therefore I walked out reasonably satisfied. To those who have studied Hughes, I wonder if their reaction to the film will involve shrugged shoulders.
There is a depressing quality to 'The Aviator' that enters as baggage that has nothing to do with the film at all. I watched 'Gangs of New York' recently for the first time and disliked it entirely. Scorsese's newest work is considerably better but leaves a bitter taste still.
While watching Leonardo DiCaprio finely portray Hughes, I remembered Scorsese's earlier work. He is the master of presenting the anti-hero. I was reminded of the chief characters in 'Raging Bull' or 'Taxi Driver.' The success of his films, to a large degree, fall around the stories encircling his troubled stars. Look, for instance, at the backdrop of 'Goodfellas.' Everywhere the Ray Liotta character goes, he is in a perpetual state of danger. He is surrounded by friends he cannot trust and the law who wants him locked up. Most importantly, we felt it the whole time.
Those films were masterworks and even for what 'The Aviator' has its sights set on, as a perfect film it would not reach that grandeur. The film begins as Howard Hughes is painstakingly attempting to complete his war epic 'Hell's Angels.' At the final cost of approaching $4 million it is an irony that the amount is a mere fraction of what the actor playing Hughes normally gets per film! The meat of the picture involves Howard Hughes' relationship with actress Katharine Hepburn, played by Cate Blanchett. At first I feared Blanchett would create a caricature of Hepburn, but the actress is far too gifted for that. The brightest element in this film is, in fact, the quiet moments between the two. As it ends up, Blanchett's performance is the best in the film, eclipsing even DiCaprio's portrayal.
That the film is totally about Hughes is made obvious early on. DiCaprio not only has the energy to show the early Hughes filming 'Hell's Angels,' but he also is capable of descending his character into inevitable madness. It is a complex role for DiCaprio and he is clearly up to the task.
There are ambitious shots, especially those of Hughes flying his many airplanes. But like 'Gangs of New York,' much of the scenes seem "stagey" and enclosed. I wonder if Scorsese should abandon larger scale epics and return to personal stories.
Much of the scenery is beautiful and the production team did well to show the different time periods and locations. The cast is a who's who of the neo-Hollywood elite which helps us feel we are among the giants like Hughes must have felt around Hepburn, Errol Flynn and Ava Gardner. Sadly, this is not the same Scorsese. The ambition is glitzy but lacking real substance. To say it is good is fine, but to say Scorsese is now good makes me sad. *** out of ****