Magnificent.

Rating: 8/10 (9 August 2006)

Howard Hughes was an iron and steel industry tycoon, a reckless pilot, he owned an airlines, he was a cinema producer, a playboyÂ… A man who live a hundred lives in just one, who defeated death itself after a brutal plane crash... A man that ended up devoured by his own personal demons, his neurosis and his phobias. They turned him into a hermit, locked up in a motel room. A great story to be adapted to the big screen... And who would adapt it better than Martin Scorsese (maybe the best director alive)? I think the first difficulty to avoid was the election of the main actor. I mean, if you choose the wrong guy then the whole project will crumble. Di Caprio, he's a hell of an actor, he's so good, but he still looks like a teenager. Anyway, that's something that all the actors of his generation have in common, so let's just say it is a lesser evil. He carries with the whole weight of the movie and that's a big pressure he just overcame. The rest of the cast is so good as well, specially Cate Blanchett who beautifully plays Katharine Hepburn. The only one who looks out of place is Kate Beckinsale (that poor little thing playing goddess Gardner?? Come On!!).
A magnificent movie, so ambitious, that honour the legend of Howard Hughes and his megalomania. A good script that perfectly set out the "hows" and the "whys" of Hughes' descent into hell. Maybe it would've been interesting to stress the years that Hughes stayed confined... but it's OK as it is, 'cause Hughes was much more than a neurotic.
*My rate: 9/10