The Queens-born director has maintained a very high standard of work once more throughout his phenomenal and successful career.
The Aviator delivers the story of one of the greatest pioneer’s to grace early Hollywood and the aviation industry, Howard Robard Hughes. The viewer gains insight to the stress involved in the film directing industry, Hughes’ sexual relationships; perhaps most notably Katharine Hepburn, and the inevitable anguish experienced through his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
The film isn’t a short one, and I know sometimes it can become easy to lose focus when a film breaches a two-hour running time, but one thing I found with Scorsese’s film is that despite the near three-hour length of the film, at no point did I find myself not glued to the matter at hand. One thing I have noticed when watching a Martin Scorsese film, is that you have to be alert and prepared to notice little things, as almost every physical movement or camera angle can contribute to a significant detail of the story. In doing so, you will realise that there are plenty of early indications of his mental illness before it becomes beyond his control in his later years. So if you’re worried that you may not be able to follow closely for the entire time, Scorsese does well in keeping the viewer encapsulated in every detail and you will lose track of the time.
A minor background into OCD now. Today in society Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is seen as a disease that can be treated through medication and other techniques in which the patient can learn to calm themselves down. During Howard Hughes’ life; Obsessive Compulsive Disorder wasn’t recognised as anything other than “insanity”, so in-keeping with the time-period, treatment would consist of a lobotomy to relieve the tension on the brain. It’s a shame to think that if Howard Hughes’ had been born a little later on and had treatment available to him; what else may he have accomplished? As he certainly didn’t struggle for revolutionary ideas before.
The cast is star-studded and Leonardo DiCaprio and John C. Reilly were both brilliant and let’s not forget Alec Baldwin. Leo had clearly done his research and his portrayal of the eccentric and troubled man was one to be recognised that’s for sure. I think that the cameo appearances from actors such as Willem Dafoe and Jude Law shows that Martin Scorsese is very selective about who he chooses to play even the smaller roles. This may sound irrelevant to others but it would have been easy to give these two well-known actors more important parts to play in this epic, but I like how he used them sparingly.
The story itself is one of inspiration, happiness and then towards the end sadness and pity. Having to witness the revolutionary engineer and patriotic man rise to the peak of fame and wealth, and subsequently fall with his reputation and mental health in tatters is enough to engage interest into this enigma of a man’s life. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to research on Howard Hughes after viewing this masterpiece.
The authenticity of the feature is my highlight I think – ranging from the clothing, cars and even the music of the time; the whole atmosphere created a believable insight into life in the 30′s and 40′s. I think this was essential in portraying an acceptable account of this man, and it was a more than worthy attempt.
If I could criticise anything, it would be that there was much more they could have put in about Hughes’ later life that would have been interesting to watch being played out, but this doesn’t take anything away from the film. Another minor thing may be Cate Blanchett’s voice throughout, it was sometimes difficult to tolerate but she isn’t constant throughout the film so not to worry.
Favourite quote:
“If you let him testify at that hearing, the whole world will see what he’s become. They should remember him for what he was. ” – Juan Trippe
Good
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- A faithful portrayal of events
- Poignant and gripping story
Bad
- Lacked some important other details of Hughes' life
- Katharine Hepburn's voice
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