horrible attempt to combine romance and disaster

Rating: 6/10 (9 July 2019)

While Cameron, the director, felt "a love story interspersed with the human loss would be essential to convey the emotional impact of the disaster," both the romance and the disaster failed. I loved the first part of the film, but my interest quickly lost after the second part began.
The power of the first part of the film lies in its exploration of social class -- my heart melted upon seeing how Jack attempts to behave like an upperclassman and how Rose enjoys Jack's company and his surrounding. I agree this kind of story sounds cliché and the encounter between Rose and Jack is unlikely, but this love story realizes the fairy tale that everyone of us deeply relates and dreams to become true.
However, the second part of the film immediately feels fake, kitsch, superficial and classist. It is lengthy and even melodramatic. For one thing, the most dangerous moment happens probably where Cal goes after Rose and Jack. The film abstains from any realistic and profound depiction of deplorable living condition in light of a disaster. Focusing on Rose, her family and her love interests, the film stages other common people as mere backdrop of the love story of an aristocrat. In the end, it becomes evident that Rose would survive and live a happy life anyway, which promptly overshadows the very existence and sacrifice of Jack.