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Back Shelf Beauties
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The Aviator Can we finally give Martin Scorsese the Best Director Oscar he has deserved for years? After getting passed over for Goodfellas and Raging Bull, this could be the year for one of America's greatest directors (don't say passed over for Gangs of New York, that movie was awesome for 2 hours, but the last half hour was eeek!). This wouldn't be some honorary achievement-like Oscar where the master is honored by a guilt-ridden Hollywood before he dies. Scorsese deserves it for The Aviator. The DiCaprio kid ain't too bad in this one either. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Howard Hughes - from his early adult life through his public battles with the United States Government over wartime funding of military projects. We follow Hughes as he takes on a series of no-win projects like the first movie he ever directed, his love life with major Hollywood starlets, experimental aircraft he designed with his engineering team and his ownership of Trans World Airlines as the company battled with a dominant Pan Am. Can Hughes get that movie made? Can he make TWA a success? Can he overcome his own mental problems? The Aviator is a grand Hollywood epic in the truest sense of the word, but one where the nearly three hour running time, multiple characters, several plots and constantly changing list of villains all fly by at an enthralling pace. Even if you don't know anything about Howard Hughes, you can watch this movie, know everything you want to know and thoroughly enjoy yourself. Much of this is because of DiCaprio. Within the first five minutes of The Aviator, aided by John Logan's script and Scorsese's direction, DiCaprio shows us Hughes's charm, entrepreneurial spirit, hard headedness, perfectionism, intelligence, obsessiveness and manic personality. Then, he gets another two and half hours to blow your mind! DiCaprio amazed me with an ability to slowly, but shockingly, clue us in on Hughes's growing metal problems regarding germs and cleanliness without making it silly. Instead, the audience is left to pity and ache for a great man as he falls deeper into despair and becomes a shadow of his former self. He adopts a very believable accent, always uses his darting eyes to grab our attention, and, for the ladies, bares his bottom in the name of art (for all of the build up and anticipation of seeing DiCaprio's booty, I wasn't that impressed. If you're going to show it off in a movie, on a big 30-foot screen, you think he'd go on the Buns of Steel program.) DiCaprio is not alone in delivering a great acting performance. Pop star Gwen Stefani is perfect for her role as Jean Harlow (because she doesn't have to say much as she walks around with the platinum blonde hair), while Cate Blanchett is more than perfect for her role as Katherine Hepburn (because she has to say much much more, and knows how to do it). Blanchett deserves an Oscar for her portrayal, which still captures Hepburn's quirkiness and character, without being a caricature. She and DiCaprio share some of the movie's best, romantic, and realistic moments, making you wonder if things would have been different if Hughes didn't suffer from his problems. Beckinsale is wonderful as Ava Gardner, but the other acting Oscar nomination should go to Alan Alda as Senator Brewster. Hawkeye has still got it (I'm sure he will be very excited to read me calling him Hawkeye. I expect a furious call from his publicist or a punch in the nose any day now). Alda creates a magnificent nemesis for DiCaprio as Brewster is the stereotypical politician sparring with a risk-taking entrepreneur. Alda shows us Brewster's public bluster and faux toughness, while making a point of demonstrating his character's spinelessness and weasely nature in private. Alec Baldwin is very good as Juan Trippe, the chief of Pan Am, but Alda has more complexity and diversity in his role. Finally, let me beg every Oscar voter to award Scorsese for a fantastic directorial effort. Scorsese brilliantly and flawlessly captures intense action scenes like airplanes zooming past Hughes as he directs Hell's Angels and a major plane crash that serves as one of the movie's biggest highlights and climaxes. Then, he captures the intense dialogue exchanges between Brewster and Hughes just as well, even showing us DiCaprio's facial transformation into Hughes. Scorsese creates a magical, majestic Hollywood and got career highlight-type performances out of almost every actor in each role. More than all of that, this complex tale told over the course of decades flows in an interesting and easy to understand manner. The Aviator is one of my favorite films of the year, and one that can stand with the great movies of all time. 4 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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