Beautiful, Lyrical, Spiritual...A Wonder to Experience!!!

Rating: 10/10 (28 May 2008)

Titanic, what has been called by some "the best movie of all time" and by others "the worst movie of all time," is absolutely incredible! Not only is it a movie; it is an experience! Let me say, to begin, that I am a teenage boy, and practically every one of my friends laughs and scoffs at this movie, especially when they learn that I like it! I just can't believe my ears whenever I hear them say things like "I've never been so bored in a movie in my life!" or "Dude, that ain't cool!" or "You can't like that movie!" or "What a disgrace to history!" or "I want my three hours back, along with my sanity!" Each one of these quotes is direct and an accurate depiction of their feelings toward this magnificent work of art. There are so many things to be remarked upon in this film! First, let me say, that Leonardo DiCaprio is even more beautiful than Kate Winslet, which is definitely saying something! I completely understand and sympathize with all of the teenage girls who used to kiss their TV screens whenever he would appear. You ladies have wonderful taste! Furthermore, his performance was exactly what it should've been. It was dramatic when needed, subtle when required, sarcastic and glib when appropriate... There was absolutely nothing wrong with his portrayal of Jack Dawson. There were so many charming moments, like when Jack is teaching Rose how to spit, and he gets ready to spit a giant spit ball, and Rose's mother and mother's friends suddenly appear out of nowhere, or when he starts drawing his glowing portrait of the angel that is Rose DeWitt Bukater, and the beautiful, wordless piano lyric sweeps the viewer off their feet. It's the moments like that, so well-thought-out and well-put-together, that make this film stand among the greatest of all time.
The next thing to remark upon is Kate Winslet's performance, which was even better than Leo's! She captured the melancholic poetry, romanticism, intelligence, poise, lyricism, and beauty of her character Rose. The moments just before Rose meets Jack, when she's running to the back of the ship to commit suicide after having escaped dinner with her perilously wealthy, sycophantic, judgmental, hypocritical crowd, are thrilling and devastating. They represent the worst of the darkness in her character, and I happen to find them fascinating. In contrast, nearly every moment she experiences with Jack before the ship crashes, is romantic and real. Sure, their story is not historically accurate. It isn't supposed to be. The movie is meant to be a work of historical "fiction!" With historical fiction, there will inevitably be facts that have been twisted around to fit the more dramatic and recent interpretations. That goes with the definition of the genre.
Lastly, the music in the movie is by the illustrious and unparalleled composer James Horner (my personal favorite.) Titanic is his best score to date, and I have every single one! Titanic's score is an explosion of diversity, lyricism, simplicity and complexity. It unites so many different styles of music, each of which represents a class and type of passenger on the ship. Hats off to Mr. Horner! He is a genius! Not even the overrated but brilliant John Williams can match his creativity and talent! He should be worshiped, as should this movie.