Why, oh why? A great film is being bashed!

Rating: 10/10 (30 August 1998)

Jealousy. It's a powerful thing, wouldn't you say? In fact, so much that people would ridicule and bash a film that gained so much popularity. It is all a matter of jealousy. If you hear anyone tell you otherwise, they are lying. The people who bash the film are the same people who thought it would flop. Because it didn't, they are trying to find new things to complain about it. "It's too long..." and all that crap. Of course, ironically, these are the people who just love Gone With the Wind, which is even longer, running at 4 hours!
Titanic is a great film. It's a tragic love story... simple, but completely effective. It's haunting in it's portrayal of Jack and Rose. The film was supposed to evoke emotions, and a complex story can not do that. If you watch The English Patient, you don't cry. You just watch with fascination. Titanic makes you cry. Simplicity is the key. We've seen all sorts of films on Titanic, but they all focus on cardboard characters. By making us care for Jack and Rose, we eventually care for everyone aboard. Jealousy even takes a part in the film. This reflexivity is actually rather humorous considering that Cal Hockley was jealous of Jack for getting Rose's love. Cal Hockley represents all the people that bash Titanic. Jack represents Titanic. And Rose is the masses of critics and audiences that do love it. Did Cameron purposely write a screenplay of this type in order to reflect how people would really feel? I doubt it, but the similarities are quite striking. In a period when films are mostly centered around special effects and style, Titanic comes along and heralds back to the old days of making films. But, when it tries to do this, it gets ridiculed by many. These people should take heed because if they do this, they are giving themselves bad names... they would rather watch Armageddon than Titanic. Gone With The Wind is the most obvious comparison here. When watching it today for the first time, I thought the romance was lame, because it wasn't romantic. It displayed a moronic lead female who couldn't make up her mind. Titanic is a postmodernistic tale of love that we should all comprehend. We would just love to find someone like Jack or Rose. But alas most of us won't. Watching it on screen is the closest we will come. People that bash it are obviously haters of love, and maybe never feel anything at all. Titanic is a great film. The best of 1997 and one of the best ever made. Cameron has done something no one ever expected : he made a successful film based entirely on love. Now, how ironic is that ?