A brief fulfilling epic

Rating: 9/10 (13 July 2019)

This review contains spoilers.
The Aviator is a biographical drama movie that premiered in 2004. The movie is directed by Martin Scorcese and is written by John Logan. Leonardo Di Caprio stars as the leading role of Howard Hughes. The movie covers the early parts of Howard Hughes' life from his early childhood to his attempts at getting the Spruce Goose into action. This movie goes in-depth exploring Howard Hughes.
The Aviator is an excellent movie. This movie is masterfully directed and edited. Martin Scorcese already had an excellent career in direction prior to this movie and The Aviator solidifies his position. This movie's direction and shots are beautiful. It masterfully displays the different stages of Howard Hughes life and his struggles. Early in the movie, Howard Hughes is displayed to be a skilled businessman, engineer, film director, and philanthropist. This worsens as the movie goes on from the struggles he has. The direction shows the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that Howard Hughes has and it worms its way into parts of his life. The direction is incredibly well-done in this regard.
The main role played by Leonardo Di Caprio is one of the best roles that he has played. This role is absolutely not an easy one. Howard Hughes is portrayed as both a tragic figure and a heroic figure in this movie. The obsessive compulsive disorder that afflicts Howard Hughes is seen early on in his life and gradually he succumbs to the mental disorder. It is heartbreaking to see and it was masterfully played by Leonardo Di Caprio. The audience can take part in his early heroic endeavors and then see as his mental disorder causes him to shrink into a shell of his former self. It was great watching Howard Hughes conquer his disorder in the end and finally own up to his legacy.
This movie centers a lot on the obsessive compulsive disorder that Howard Hughes has. Across the 170 minute running time of the movie, the movie focuses on Howard Hughes and has elements of this disorder come into play. Audiences that do not like drama and do not like such character focused movies should look elsewhere. The audiences that do enjoy watching an interesting historical figure should absolutely watch this movie. This movie portrays the obsessive compulsive disorder incredibly well and shows how a mental disorder can cripple a good mind.
The supporting cast in this movie is excellent. Every casting choice in this movie is top-notch. Special praise should be given to Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn, Alan Alda as Senator Owen Brewster, and Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner. These supporting characters really made the character of Howard Hughes play out well and it made the entire movie feel complete. Howard Hughes can be seen as a divisive figure and I am glad that the movie does not shy away from this.
I highly recommend The Aviator. This movie is an excellent biographical drama. The only criticism I had was it only covered a small portion of Howard Hughes' life. I would have wanted a sequel or a longer movie that covered more.
Grade: A