Hard to invest in a fella we care little for

Rating: Null/10 (12 March 2005)

Care factor zero is behind the dramatic failure of Scorsese's latest, a visual essay on aspects of the life of Howard Hughes (Leonardo De Caprio).
The presentation is glossy and too slick; I never felt any sense of danger in the dogfight sequence because planes were impacting with the lens and emerging on the other side. It was like watching a cartoon.
Hughes, an odd fellow, developed an unhealthy obsession with cleanliness. The movie spends quite a bit of time showing him combating filthy things and imagined filthy things. After a while it got boring.
Even though Hughes spent millions on projects that never flew, he never came close to going bust. His accountant got plenty peed off at him when he continued to pour dollars into his epic flop HELL'S ANGELS, but still, he never faced any visible hardship as a result. It's like I was watching an extended promo on the life of Hughes The only time the film arrested my interest was when Hughes was put on trial and went head to head with crooked politician Alan Alda. We learned something about his motivations here and enjoyed his underdog status (if only briefly).
Immensely disappointing.