Excellent, but ending was too abrupt

Rating: 8/10 (26 December 2004)

I saw "The Aviator" last night (Dec. 25, 2004), and thought it was exceptional film-making in so many ways. Scorsese captures the Hollywood scene so well, and the plot informed me of things I had never known about Howard Hughes.
DiCaprio carries the show admirably as the very complex Huges, with both zest and enthusiasm and also the ability to effectively capture Hughes' private demons at work. DiCaprio's performance is one of his very best, and I expect him to be nominated for Best Actor.
Cate Blanchett is so dead-on as Katharine Hepburn (yes, I never thought she looked anything like Hepburn, but the way she carries herself, speaks, laughs, etc. is pure Hepburn). Blanchett should be near the top of the list for consideration as Best Supporting Actress.
I also thought Alan Alda's performance as the seedy Senator out to destroy Hughes (and also on the take from Hughes' competitors), was possibly the best he's turned in on the big screen. I would not be surprised to see him nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
In all, the film features top-rate cinematography, direction, sets, a compelling tale, fantastic recreation of the making of old films, and great acting. The problem is with the choice of the ending. It should not have ended the way it did. Its ending would have been effective had the movie started out, as in "Lawrence of Arabia", with the death and funeral of Hughes. But it did not, so I think people not familiar with the final days of his life, will be disappointed -- not with the fascinating film, but the abrupt way it ends.