Review of The Aviator (2004) by Amanda C — 14 Jul 2012

The Aviator suffers from the same failings that most of Scorsese's work from the early and mid 2000s. It's high gloss, tries to cram too much into a too long run time and therefore seems to have nothing to say as the result is a highly disjointed and confusing film. It does look fantastic. DP Robert Richardson does a fantastic job with the colour, making it parallel the colour technology of the time period represented on screen. The greeny-blue hues of the pre-1930s two strip Technicolor is wonderfully transitioned into the gorgeous saturation of the three strip process of the late 30s. There is also some fabulous direction within specific shots and scenes. Piece by piece, frame by frame, this is a film that is a work of art. Unfortunately the filmic and dramatic aspects of the film fall woefully short.

The film covers over twenty years of the life of Howard Hughes and pretty much every aspect of his life and business. This means that the film is constantly bouncing from the world of Hollywood to the aviation industry, all while trying to cover Hughes relationships with Katherine Hepburn as well as Ava Gardener and a slew of young actresses and the politics associated with his business. Even with a three hour run time, there is no chance for any in depth portrayal of any one aspect. The result is a series of vignettes the feels like a check list of events in Hughes life. There is no progression or relationship between the characterization of Hughes as you move from one section to the next, as Hughes jumps from being a suave womanizer, to obsessive cutthroat business man, to OCD, to mentally unstable and then back to rational intellectual. It doesn't help that DiCaprio plays him with a permanent frown in an attempt to overcome his baby face.

There are some great set pieces, most notably the scene with the Breen censorship board as Hughes tries to convince them to give his film The Outlaw their seal of approval by demonstrating, with enlarged photographs, that his lead actress doesn't show anymore cleavage than films that were passed by the board, but these are few and far between and become less common as the film progresses. Cate Blanchett is the one constant in the film, brilliant as always in her portrayal of Katherine Hepburn, but still feels miscast next to DiCaprio's Hughes as she appears so much older than him. And the attempt to insert a villain into the plot through Alec Baldwin's Juan Trippe is just embarrassing.

All told The Aviator is a bit of a mess. At the very least this film would have benefited from an editor who could cut the run time in half, as at least 45min are pretty much filler and contribute nothing of value. Scorsese is capable of much better.