riveting and emotional

Rating: 8/10 (27 May 2000)

I've seen this film about 10 times. Each time I howl at the end. I know there are heaps of flaws and some serious narrative ambiguities, but actually I don't really care because I found it 3 hours of absorbing and completely magical storytelling.
James Cameron does a fantastic job with Titanic. He makes wonderful use of the film as medium - no other visual art can offer the grandeur and breathtaking sweeps of imagery that film does. The effects are simply riveting, and emotionally wrenching.
I loved the story of Rose and Jack. They were alive and had great depth and believability. Kate Winslet was magnificent and so was Gloria Stuart. Leo di Caprio did seem a bit too modern but his Jack was sympathetic and interesting. The supporting cast was excellent.
The script does require a fair bit of cooperation from the viewer in terms of believability, but this can be done by people who don't try to put 'historically accurate' and 'film' in the same sentence. They don't go together. Never have and never will. Film is fantasy, escapism and a willingness to suspend one's life in order to live another for a few hours. Titanic does this superbly. It deserved every Oscar it received.
And it's simply wonderful storytelling. Like Star Wars (the original not that hideous travesty TPM), it is the best of popcorn genre. Entertainment without baggage. And I'll cry again next time I see it.