Film Review: The Aviator

From the beginning of the Aviator, we are dragged into a world of glitz and glamour, an almost colourised black and white world of flashbulbs, excess and celebrity. The music, the costumes, the scenery all perfectly place us, and at the centre of it all is Howard Hughes, fearlessly consuming life and money, making movies, advancing aviation and bedding the whole of Hollywood. He makes no excuses, he accepts no obstacles, and his drive for excellence is unquenched. DiCaprio plays the youthful exuberance of Hughes well, his hallmark natural boyish charm fitting the mould perfectly.

In the midst of this he has many romances, but most notable is his relationship with Katharine Hepburn, who, while brilliantly portrayed by Cate Blanchett is presented as a bit of a caricature. The scene where she takes Howard to meet her parents is a triumph in terms of script and more particularly editing. In fact, the technical side is where this film excels, the colours, the mood, the cinematography and the score all create the perfect context.

Where this film lets itself down slightly is that it doesn't go anywhere. It describes a 20year period in Hughes' life, but the passage of time is inadequately conveyed. DiCaprio fails only in this respect: he physically does not fit the part, plus the script does not convey the mental journey that Hughes travels in that time, particularly in handling his increasing obsessive-compulsive behaviour, and how it affects him.

Alan Alda is masterfully understated in his role as the ambitious politician Senator Brewster, a man who fatally overreaches; he underestimates his adversary Hughes, as he drags him into court for an Open Senate Hearing on charges of misappropriation. Disbelief needs to be suspended here, as Hughes, whom two days before needed to be rescued, washed and shaved by Eva Gardner (ably played by Kate Beckinsale), turns up in court as hero reelect. While this is an exhilerating scene, the miraculous mental transformation begs a bit much of the viewer.

DiCaprio stretches himself, while the supporting cast (the outstanding Blanchett and Alda aside) are dependable. Coupled with the perfect look and feel of the time, and an occasionally dazzling script, this will feature strongly in the Oscar ceremony, and while a bit too long remains a swashbuckling ride. 7/10