In a virtual drought of good movies for 2004---this is the best I've seen this year!

Rating: 7/10 (9 January 2005)

It is always a difficult thing to film a biography without beatifying the subject. In this movie, Scorcese shows us the Howard Hughes, the charmer, the Hollywood maverick, the Aviator. He also shows the demons that haunted and eventually possessed this great maverick! What Hughes accomplished was only overshadowed by what he could have been if he were able to control his neurosis that eventually overwhelmed him. I thought Leonardo gave one of his finest performances of his young career. The Aviator is a case study of one of the 20th Centuries most influential and most powerful men in this country. It also provides a snapshot into his personal life that shows him as a Hollywood playboy and publicity hound, but only to eventually promote his beloved Hughes Air/TWA. But, it truly conveys his real passion for flying and aviation. I strongly recommend this film as one of the better films of the year...if not the best, that I have personally seen! Its a little longish so don't drink too much soda.