The Aviator 2004
With a nomination for Best Picture, Director, and several other Oscars, I was expecting a lot from this movie and find myself wanting a little more than I got. Leonardo DiCaprio has a challenging role playing the classic eccentric billionaire, Howard Hughes. Hughes was such a huge figure in his life and death that we feel like we already know him. Likewise, Leonardo is such a hot star that you spend the movie evaluating the portrayal rather than sitting back and enjoying the story.
Still, the life of Howard Hughes has always been a great story that combines money, movies, starlets, fast planes, and the well known mental imbalance. It appeals to all of us who want a meaty hero with a freak show side appeal. We see this today in the intense media scrutiny of the travails of Michael Jackson. The man hasn’t made a decent record in a decade and yet has never for a day left the media spotlight.
There is a great cast here with small parts by Alan Alda, Cate Blanchett, John C. Reilly, Jude Law, Gwen Stefani (?!), the sublime Kate Beckinsale, and even Alec Baldwin. Though the movie is quite long, it is always interesting as the lurid details roll out one after the other. When the movie finally ends, I was ready to see more, a lot more, and that really says something.
That desire for more is both a compliment to the movie, and a complaint. We see a rich and powerful man coming up with some great ideas, but most of them end in utter failure: planes that barely fly, an airline that no longer exists, movies you’ve never seen. I was left wondering where Hughes was going to really show the genius that made him so wealthy, but the movie doesn’t provide it. That, and the perception of the lead playing a role rather than really being the character, let the movie fall a little short.
How about a B+?