Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, Adam Scott, Kelli Garner, Alec Baldwin, Ian Holm, Alan Alda, Willem Dafoe, John C. Reilly
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Charles Evans Jr., Graham King, Sandy Climan, Michael Mann
Written by John Logan
“Fly the Eccentric Skies”
By Jonathan Chan
Best picture of 2004?
Probably not.
Best biopic of 2004?
Possibly.
Martin Scorsese is back in the saddle with his grandest film ever. Never has Marty looked so bright, so lush, so PG-13 (meant in a good, appeal to all-audiences way). With a nod to cinematographer Robert Richardson, “The Aviator” exudes lush images with the backdrop of early Hollywood and cloudless skies.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Howard Hughes – eccentric billionaire wonder boy – not too much of a stretch for our baby-faced star. Granted, he does such a remarkable job as the Texan Aviator, that you forget it’s Leo doing an accent and buy it completely that he is able to be a mature, wiser Hughes when the film goes 20 years into his life. In fact Leo’s performance improves as the movie progresses, culminating in his best performance since, well “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”
A compelling screenplay by John Logan focuses on Hughes overcoming challenges from making his first foray into filmmaking a success to being a successful aviator by throwing money at anything that may impede his progress. But it’s force of will that overcome the more extreme conflicts like being the fastest man in the sky and learning to trust someone explicitly.
As we see the meteoric rise of a man who bought Trans World Airlines and who dates the hottest Hollywood starlets, we also see the inevitable fall and deterioration of a troubled man plagued by his obsessive-compulsive behavior.
All throughout this journey are familiar faces that enrich the film, led by the ever-excellent John C. Reily (who gets the best line of the movie when the doctors reveal Hughes is forced to receive hospital blood), the darling Ian Holm (who is in the center of my favorite titillating moment), veterans Alan Alda and Alec Baldwin, and solid appearances by underused Jude Law (Errol Flynn), Gwen Stefani (Jean Harlow) and Kate Beckingsdale (Ava Gardner).
As this is surely Leonardo’s triumph, stealing every scene from him is Cate Blanchett who magically channels Katherine Hepburn perfectly. Her depiction of the pioneering uber-actress is so convincing, she’ll be a shoe-in for an Oscar nomination if not a win.
This film should also garner nominations for Leo, Marty, and a host of other technical categories. If a bio-pic makes you Google the titular character right after viewing it – it’s doing something right. And Marty’s “Aviator” is flying pretty darn high.
