Review of The Aviator (2004) by Jonathan B — 01 Dec 2010

Martin Scorsese's beautifully made biopic of the crazy life of Howard Hughes is one of the best movies I have ever seen. The film is directed by the legendary Scorsese and he is at his finest here. The solid cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, and Alec Baldwin. The film works from a terrfic script by John Logan and it tells the early and rough years of filmmaker/aviator Howard Hughes.

First of all, the film looks gorgeous. The cinematography is fantastic and the period is perfectly captured. Scorsese's famous eccentric direction takes a bit of step back here as he makes a beautifully layered, yet downbeat film. It starts off as a very intriguing film about a young tycoon making a 4 million dollar war epic, but it slowly evolves into a touching and very haunting portrayal of a man who is truly losing his mind. DiCaprio's performance as Hughes is so articulate and perfect that he becomes Hughes, and towards the end of the film he completely steals the show and blows everyone away. As Hughes starts to slowly grow more and more insane, DiCaprio's performance becomes so much more mesmerizing. It's truly one of the great leading performances of the decade, i'm truly shocked that he didn't win the Oscar. His final scene in this film broke my heart and it truly spoke to his performance as a whole and it's the best i've ever seen DiCaprio.

DiCaprio's performance is truly electrifying, but the supporting cast is also on their best too. Jude Law shows up in a tiny role as Errol Flynn, which is quite amusing. Alec Baldwin basically plays himself, but it's effective for his character Juan. Alan Alda is absolutely incredible as Senator Owen, his arrogant performance helps carry the dark toned second half alongside DiCaprio. Their scenes together are truly captivating. Beckinsale is sexy and charming as Ava Gardner and John C. Reilly plays the nice guy of the movie, playing Hughes's finanical helper Noah.

Besides DiCaprio, Blanchett gives the best performance. She is electrifying as Kat Hepburn and she takes control of every scene she is in. DiCaprio and Blanchett generate this tragic sort of chemistry that really helps the love scenes, but it's much more effective when she confesses her love for another man. The dynamic of their performances are incredible and Scorsese's direction is to thank for that.

The Aviator is without a doubt of one of my favorite movies of all-time and it's easily one of the best movies of this decade.