Obsessive Beauty

Rating: 8/10 (17 January 2005)

Men with the most money get the most attention, especially when they're involved with Hollywood. One of these men was Howard Hughes, a man who faced barriers from without and within. The Aviator does a pretty good job of capturing this man on film, but the movie still has some barriers of its own.
The Aviator does not begin at the beginning of Hughes' life; rather it picks up in the midst of Hughes' production of Hell's Angels. And just like Hell's Angels, there's never a moment in the film that's boring. In fact, all 170 minutes are captivating. There are so many big-names behind this film that one can't help but be awed. Alec Baldwin, John C. Reilly, Willem Dafoe, Jude Law, Ian Holm. Standing out, though, was Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn, eccentric in her performance, but only as eccentric as Hepburn herself.
Furthermore, Scorsese's direction and Richardson's cinematography are both excellent and pleasing to the eye throughout the film. Also, Shore provides a score that captures the excitement of aviation alongside the tragedy of Hughes life. The screenplay, sets, and costumes also seem to fit the time period very well.
Now, on to DiCaprio's performance. Overall, I felt that he did a very good job in his very tough role as a deeply-troubled man whom no one ever understood. However, at the beginning of the film, he just seems to be Leonardo DiCaprio, not Howard Hughes. Maybe this is because the film delves right into the action and the viewer cannot even start to grasp Hughes' character until later in the film. Needless to say, though, as Hughes ages, DiCaprio seems to embrace the character fully and without restraint. One other complaint I have regards a certain transition in the film that I found hard to believe, and it has to do with the mental state of Mr. Hughes, but I cannot discuss it in full here because it may spoil the film for potential viewers.
Anyways, this is a must-see, in turns entertaining and disturbing. The ending is a beauty.
Final Grade: A-.