DiCaprio shines in 'The Avaitor'

Rating: 8/10 (21 February 2005)

Leonardo DiCaprio has been the biggest teen heartthrob in the last ten years. Not even Brad Pitt or The Backstreet Boys have made young girls scream as loud as they have over DiCaprio. Over the last several years, though, he has been playing some mature and quality roles that have pulled him out of the image of a pretty boy and into the image of a real actor. In is latest film, he stars as Howard Hughes, a man who probably one of the most eccentric and misunderstood figures of the 20th century. It is hard to believe that this is the same Leo who played the twelve year old brat in Titanic. The Aviator is directed by Martin Scorsese, who, in the opinion of this "critic", is one of the greatest American directors of the last 30 years. His films are dark, intense, uncompromising, and are unlike most other Hollywood movies. This film is more light-hearted than his other movies, but it is still not without its morbid side. The movie is told in chronological order, starting in the 1920s, with Howard Hughes' project in the making his movie called Hell's Angels. Immediately we see his obsession with perfection. The film is costing the company millions of dollars, but that does not bother Hughes one bit, for he wants to give the audience a perfect film. He re shoots expensive scenes, and then re shoots the entire movie in sound. The obsession with perfection is what ultimately will lead to his downfall. As the movie progresses, the audience is shown numerous bizarre behaviors by Hughes, including washing his hands until they start bleeding. This behavior seems harmless and humorous at first, but soon we realize it is serious business. Nonetheless, Scorsese tries to portray Hughes in the most optimistic way possible. In real life, Hughes became extremely reclusive, hardly communicating with anyone in the outside world. Legend has it that in the last years of his life, he had to be identified with his fingerprints when he died because no one had seen him in years. The film is not trying to be a tragedy, though, but rather uplifting in showing a man who fought off his psychological demons and produced some meaningful things in his lifetime. Scorsese shows Howard Hughes as both a combination of artist and architect. Not only was he a filmmaker, but a plane designer, and also an industrialist. He was a deeply flawed man; he had affairs, had obsessive behavior, and was burned badly in a plane crash. All of this did not stop him from producing quality work, including building the "Spruce Goose", the largest plane ever to fly. He was also able to defend himself in front of a Congressional hearing about aeronautical controversies that happened during World War 2. All in all, what is most impressive about this film is Leonardo DiCaprio's performance of a complicated man. The teen sensation once known as Leo is no more. He is developing into a real actor and is starting to produce some of the best work of his career. DiCaprio plays this role with convincing passion, and most movie lovers will forget that it is actually DiCaprio up there on the screen. This is a difficult task to do, considering it is coming from a guy who most people dismiss as a pretty boy with little talent. Nevertheless, Leonardo is not looking back, and from now on, he looks like he is going to keep on playing serious and important roles. The Aviator is nominated for a whopping eleven Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and most importantly, Best Picture. The movie will win some of these awards for sure, because the film community has been raving about it since it was released. It is still not a movie for everyone though. Some will most likely find it boring and tedious. Those who stick will find that is it a rewarding movie experience.