Review - Titanic

Rating: 10/10 (2 July 2012)

James Cameron's Titanic is proof that a movie doesn't have to be original to be good. I'm not saying that originality is bad; I like it, it's good, but it's a minor factor in how good a movie/story is. The story doesn't necessarily have to be original, but it has to be compelling to people; has to capture the emotion and interest of the audience and keep them riveted throughout. Titanic does just that. It captures the heart and interest of the viewer and keeps it completely riveted all the way through the end (it did for many people, anyway, including me).
Titanic combines fiction with non-fiction, the more important of which is probably the non- fiction aspect: the tragic sinking of the luxury cruiser R. M. S. Titanic in 1912. There have been a few films that portrayed the tragic event (such as Titanic in 1953 and A Night To Remember in 1958). Then, in 1997, along came James Cameron, who, despite some weaknesses with script and dialogue, is good at storytelling, and always pushes the advancement of visual and special effects, and uses them to his advantage. Therefore, a film about the Titanic was a perfect project for him. The recreation of the ship is great, with excellent detail and scope. Except for a few brief moments here and there when something doesn't look quite real, it's it looks spellbindingly realistic, and, while watching it, it felt almost like I was really there. James Cameron really spent his $200 million budget wisely.
Some of that money also went into filming some footage of the actual wreck at the bottom of the ocean. This footage is seen in a scene at the beginning of the movie, shot via a remote- controlled underwater camera. As Roger Ebert says, "These shots strike precisely the right note; the ship calls from its grave for its story to be told." However, instead of only telling a story of only the real event, he also weaves a fictional story ingeniously into it, specifically an almost Romeo and Juliet-like story of forbidden love. In modern times (actually, during the time the film was made), a fictitious survivor of the Titanic sinking, old Rose DeWitt Bukater (Gloria Stuart), tells the story via flashback, and tells about her brief yet intense forbidden love affair with Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio).
Seventeen-year-old Rose (Kate Winslett), from a wealthy upper-class background, is betrothed to a rich snob, Cal Hockley (Billy Zane). She hates this, and is extremely miserable. Meanwhile, Jack is basically poor, and he wins a ticket to the Titanic in a lucky win in a card game. He eventually finds Rose, who is about to commit suicide by jumping off the ship, and he saves her life. What follows is the development of their forbidden love story, which is told in such a way that shows off different parts of the magnificent cruise ship. It's a simple, predictable, and clichéd story, but it's still very compelling, especially since we know how that the ship is going to sink eventually and cause heartbreaking results on their romance (predictability is actually good here).
Meanwhile, there is the subplot regarding the actual historical events leading up to the sinking - the arrogance of the builders and the people who ran the ship (they thought the ship was unsinkable). At the midpoint of the movie, the ship hits the iceberg, and the second half of the movie begins, and develops into a thrilling yet tense and dramatic race for survival. The entire movie, from start to finish, is handled extremely well in terms of story, and is completely full of heart and soul; it's all very strong in emotion. And yes, it's predictable, but in this case it actually adds to the power of the movie. But it's not completely predictable. There are a lot of things that are not fully given away, like exactly who dies (besides Jack) and who lives (besides Rose), and some other things along the way, too.
Some people would definitely argue that the love story between Jack and Rose is completely unnecessary, but it actually helps the movie. It adds more emotion to the story and makes it that much more compelling. It also provides more structure to the story and the showing-off of the ship, and even allows the audience to really connect with the passengers on the ship (innocent people whose lives are ultimately ruined or permanently altered as a result of the builders' arrogance and ignorance – unsinkable, yeah right). And the special effects also made the film work well, too. However, despite having great special effects in his film, James Cameron did not lose sight of what's truly important – story, characters, emotion, etc. The movie does not rely on special effects. It wouldn't have worked nearly as well without them, but they are not the main driving force of the film.
If I had to criticize one thing about the film, it would be the length. In my opinion, it's too long, at three hours and fifteen minutes. However, it still works brilliantly as it is. Every moment of the story serves a great and important contribution to the story, the drama, the emotion, and everything else. The performances by the actors were very good, the pacing of the film is great (if a bit lengthy at times), and the tone of the film is great. James Horner's score is fantastic, very memorable, absolutely beautiful, and perfect for the film. And, despite having a good deal of fiction in it, the movie excellently portrays the historical tragic sinking of the Titanic, and captures the horror and tragedy brilliantly. With lots of heart, suspense, drama, and great historical portrayal combined with fiction and stunningly realistic visual and special effects, James Cameron's Titanic is arguably the best film of 1997.
My Rating: **** (out of ****)
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