Grade:  B+

Director:  Martin Scorsese		Released:  December 2004
Writer:  John Logan		MPAA Rating:  PG-13
Players:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, John C. Reilly		Running time:  169 minutes

Ratings System

I knew little about Howard Hughes before viewing The Aviator, familiar with only the basics: air speed records, movie producer, nutcase who lived in a hyperbolic chamber.  One of the downsides of the film is that it kind of assumes you know some things.  For example, there isn't really any explanation as to who Katherine Hepburn is other than a quick label of "movie star".  It's painful to admit, but there is a whole generation coming up who don't know who she is.  To someone in that camp, she'll come across like a kook with a goofy accent.  And why would a successful, handsome man like Howard Hughes want to hang around a kook with a goofy accent?

On the other hand, the lack of exposition allows the film to concentrate on Hughes and his exploits.  The Aviator chronicles some of his greatest achievements, his battles, and his increasing lack of ability to control his OCD.  The film ends before he really gets nutty but you can tell where he's headed.

The first shot of DiCaprio as Hughes was a bit jarring.  DiCaprio's Texas twang sounds like a practiced imitation, took me a while to get used to.  Eventually I became comfortable with him to the point where I enjoyed his performance.  Meanwhile, I was thrilled with John C. Reilly.  His role isn't huge, but I love the guy.  He has a certain unnameable quality that I dig.

Any sequence featuring Hughes in an airplane was terrific.  Most notably the one depicting the aerial photography taken for his film, Hell's Angels.  You really feel like you are in the air with him, rolling film as dozens of planes zig-zag across the sky.  It's the most dynamic and enthralling scene in the film, and the other airborne sequences are almost as great.

One particular scene touched me personally, as it could have been ripped straight out of my life.  When Hughes visits Katherine Hepburn's family and the loud dinner table conversation not only transforms Hepburn into somebody Hughes barely recognizes, but also doesn't allow him to get two words into the conversation uninterrupted.  That's me every time crocoWife's family gets together.  There's something about that situation that makes a guy want to throw up his hands in frustration.  Scorsese and DiCaprio captured it perfectly.

Howard Hughes.  I'm surprised it's taken this long for a major film to made about his life.  Let's face it, the man's story is fascinating.  He's like Charles Lindburgh, Orson Welles, Bill Gates, and Michael Jackson rolled into one.  This picture left me wanting to know more, wishing it was even longer than it's already long running time.  Seems like there is a lot of ground the movie doesn't cover which could fill a whole other movie.  Do I smell sequel?

- crocoPuffs