Mastery

Rating: 9/10 (11 October 2005)

There's no such thing as the perfect movie, but I consider myself a harsh critic and The Aviator was immediately one of my favorites. It's one of the only movies I've ever seen twice in the theater. If it had been performed live, I would have been on my feet at the curtain drop. I have heard some people say they didn't like it, mainly because it was either too dark or too slow. In my opinion, it was right on target as far as the mood created by the film in relation to Howard Hughes' life. The balance, especially, was appropriate. It would be hard to respect a biographical movie about a real person (with a life much darker than was depicted by the movie, I might add) if that movie ignored one of the most important characteristics of its star. Hughes led a tragic life. I'm a fan of creative artistry in film, as opposed to disliking a movie if it doesn't have a fast pace or lots of emotional evocation from the audience. That being said, I found the Aviator to be a fantastic display of cinematic mastery (and I'm not even a huge Scorsese fan). It is one of the most inspiring movies I have ever seen (especially for young people), and the thrill of dramatic events in history being made by Hughes are portrayed in a way that really captivated my own thrill and even caused me to forget about the movie theater I was sitting in at times (a rare thing). The best part about it is its historic accuracy - excellent for Hollywood, especially in a movie that was made to astound the audience. It's true, the tone is dark for a lot of the movie, but it's rightfully so. Howard Hughes led an astounding but privately tragic life, and I see that translated on screen in an appropriate-for-a-movie manner. Not too depressing, but not to flippant. And there's plenty of breathtaking action if that's what you're looking for. On a side note, I have never liked Leonardo DiCaprio. I take credit for some of his not-so-romantic nicknames. But in The Aviator, I find, he has finally come into his won as an actor. Until now I've seen his acting as immature and green, but he has finally become a man. Not only that, but I applaud Scorsese for casting Leo because there are times when the physical similarity between him and Hughes is amazing. I never would have guessed.
My recommendation: read a quick online biography or two about Howard Hughes before you see the film. I did, and I found his life story fascinating, not to mention that it complements the movie and makes it much more enjoyable to watch - being well informed about what's going on.