Billion Dollar Baby

Rating: 8/10 (5 June 2005)

This is a truly lavish and wonderful movie about a large portion of the life of American original, Howard Hughes. I am not a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, but I must admit that here he does his subject proud. It is hard to imagine anyone else in this role; DiCaprio becomes Hughes, and, especially toward the close of the film, is an eerie Hughes double.
The period settings and wardrobe are perfect to the least detail. The actual color used in the movie emulates color processes used during the times depicted. This type of loving handling is what we have come to expect of Scorcese, and he does not disappoint.
The picture has a sterling and quite watchable supporting cast, all of whom, save one, perform wonderfully . Kate Beckinsale is a fine Ava Gardiner, Alec Baldwin is suavely evil as the insidious Juan Trippe, Alan Alda exudes slime as Sen. Brewster, and small appearances, almost cameos, by Brent Spiner, Willem Dafoe, Ian Holm, and others all bring home the class nature of this production.
Only one failure in the the cast: the performance of Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn. Blanchett handles Hepburn as ham-handedly as hammy. It is as if she never saw a Kate Hepburn movie or interview and had no knowledge at all of how Hepburn looked, sounded, or acted. One is relieved once Blanchett is off screen, not blemishing what is otherwise a great production.
Like so many biopics, this one tells us little of Hughes' motivations or character. By and large, this omission does not prevent us from enjoying the movie. Hughes insanity is a bit overplayed and many of his accomplishments are overshadowed by the picture's obsession with his mental breakdown. The director even borrows a bit from A Beautiful Mind, inviting us to question whether certain characters Hughes sees on screen are really there.
I give this picture 8 stars out of 10; it would have captured 9 but for Blanchett's embarrassing "performance".