Not perfect but highly entertaining

Rating: Null/10 (20 November 1998)

In some ways I can understand why some people hated this movie. I agree that it's overhyped and did not deserve either Best Picture or Best Actress. The love story was cliched and lame. Dicaprio's acting has seen better days (check out Basketball Diaries and What's Eating Gilbert Grape for a true picture of his talents) though this wasn't really his fault, but Cameron's rather badly written script. And the script? Well--what can I say? It's really an action picture, after all. Some important details leading to the sinking were glossed over or totally ignored, such as the wireless operator's role in the tragedy, the Californian ignoring pleas for help, etc. However, the movie is already quite long and in order to fit the love story in and develop the characters enough for us to care, much needed to be left on the cutting-room floor. Personally I don't have a problem with this. Documentaries and more historically realistic films about the Titanic have already been made. This is meant to be a Hollywood *movie*, not a documentary or even good art. Cameron never leads us to believe that he's trying to make it anything more than it is, and for what it is, Cameron's Titanic is an excellent movie. The only real problems I had was the under-development of certain characters, namely Kathy Bates as Molly Brown and Victor Garber as Thomas Andrews. Both these characters were far more interesting in their small roles than the two leads, and it's too bad Cameron chose not to expand their roles even if it meant a *four-hour* movie. I would have gladly sat the extra hour. The other problem is the two leads. As I already said, Dicaprio may have been miscast, but his character was so inherently uninteresting and "perfect" that I doubt *anyone* could have done a better job. He did look weird next to the voluptuous Winslet, however. Someone with a bit more meat on their bones, perhaps, who looked slightly older? I don't know... As for Winslet, well, she's a good actress but Oscar material? Hmmmm. She seemed just a tad too, um, cheap and klutzy to pull off the role of a first-class young woman with any believability. A more refined and ethereal actress such as Claire Danes would have been a better choice. Also, these characters's speech seemed too "modern" for 1912...but I could be wrong here. As for the SFX, absolutely stunning and totally believable. I really felt what it must feel like to be on a sinking ship. The sequence with the band playing on as people either race about panicking or calmly succumb to their fate is extremely moving and made me cry more than anything Winslet or Dicaprio did. This, and the scene where the camera pulls back to show us thousands of people thrashing about in the freezing water (chilling in more ways than one!) are perhaps the best in the movie. Horner's soundtrack is moving and perfect, though I could have done without the dumb and overplayed Celine Dion song during the closing credits. Best of 1997? Maybe not, but definitely up there with my favorites.