A stunning combination of madness and genius

Rating: 9/10 (17 December 2005)

That Howard Hughes certainly was a particular individual: billionaire, filmmaker, engineer, aviator (as the title reminds us), ladies'man, but also an eccentric sociopath who wouldn't even open a door if someone else had touched it first. Not a bad subject for a movie, and Martin Scorsese decided to accept that challenge. And frankly, why not? This film was an excuse to bring Hollywood's glory years back, those years the director is so fond of, the period in which most of The Aviator is set. And let's not forget one of the movie's key themes, obsession, something Scorsese knows quite well (it took him almost 20 years to make The Last Temptation of Christ and 30 to do Gangs of New York).
The first half of the film is the best one, as we witness Hughes'(Leonardo Di Caprio) first important battle: the one he fought to complete Hell's Angels, which was the most expensive picture of its time. When he's not shooting said war flick, he spends his time as any other wealthy guy: dating movie stars. The focus is on his relationship with Katharine Hepburn (a picture-perfect Cate Blanchett), although we're also granted glimpses of his affairs with Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale) and Jean Harlow (Gwen Stefani). Through these acquaintances, we even get to see a different side of show business, namely what famous actors do off camera (Jude Law is tremendously fun as a drunk, all but heroic Errol Flynn).
After that, serious trouble begins: Hughes' various manias start to increase and get worse, making him more and more alone, with nothing but his money and his extreme ambitions to keep him company (that's probably why The Aviator is called "Scorsese's Citizen Kane"). And he's gonna need that money, since his airline might get thrown out of business, courtesy of a group of people led by Pan Am boss Juan Trippe (an impressive Alec Baldwin) and a corrupt US senator (the justly Oscar-nominated Alan Alda).
Ultimately, it's a film about power and the war fought to keep that power, as well as the struggles we have to face in order to make our dreams come true. And in Leo Di Caprio, Scorsese has found a man capable of successfully portray the incarnation of innocence, enthusiasm, genius and pure madness, all in the same person. While in Gangs of New York he was second to Daniel Day-Lewis, this time the former Titanic star has the chance to shine on his own, and impress us he does, particularly when his eccentric billionaire starts losing it completely. Shame the two didn't venture more into what drew the crazy man, but The Aviator nonetheless remains a compelling, epic story.
Love classic American movies? You'll love this one, too.