Little Howie Hughes

What better way to spend a day off than with some relaxation, errands, and finishing it up with a good old fashioned Hollywood Biopic?

Well, some may beg to differ, but I think that's a pretty nice way to end the day. Specifically, I caught a viewing of The Aviator appropriately enough at The Bridge in the Promenade at Howard Hughes Center. If you don't know what this movie is, and you don't know who Howard Hughes you'll have to check it out, especially if you're enamored with planes, technology, and flight. This movie will knock your socks off.

Truthfully, I went in with high expectations. Perhaps in the minority, I enjoyed Martin Scorsese's last effort, Gangs of New York and was looking forward to this one immensely. Not just because I'm an engineer, or because Mr. Scorsese has a love for cinema, but because Howard Hughes himself led a conflicted and unfortunate existence. As famous and ingenious as he was, he could not escape the affliction of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and it's ultimately what consumed him.

Leonardo DiCaprio took to task the lead role as the eccentric test pilot and millionaire in what has to be his greatest role to date. The early promise of a stellar career has to be realized here, and it's no surprise to me that he was nominated for a Golden Globe recently. For one, he doesn't shy away from depicting the absolute prison of Mr. Hughes' OCD while at the same time maintaining an unbridled and passionate energy for what he loves. It's an emotional performance that I was impressed by, and no doubt impressed the Hollywood Foreign Press.

Supporting the lead, Cate Blanchett proves once again why she is one of the most talented actresses at the moment. Her honest portrayal of Katherine Hepburn plays less as imitation and more as personification. Most other roles in this film are secondary to hers and Mr. Dicaprio's and with good reason, every moment they're on the screen together, it's cinema gold.

What most impressed me about this movie were how devoted Mr. Scorsese is to film itself. He shares with Mr. Hughes an obsession of all things film, and especially a devotion to realism. It's apparent that both directors want the audience to experience the pain, the joy, the fear, and the love their characters emote. There's parallels in the high flying antics of Mr. Hughes' first film Hell's Angels to this film's own scenes of flight. One could also argue that the early on-screen violence of Scarface and the similar gangland brutality of Goodfellas hold much in common that both directors wanted realism and not beauty.

With all of this praise, you would think I really loved this film, but in actuality, I left feeling somewhat empty. Maybe it was the knowledge of Mr. Hughes' life after the events of the film and how it ultimately was bittersweet. What Mr. Scorsese did accomplish was helping us remember how great the accomplishments of this one innovator really were. We as young people do not even know of a time when flight was inaccessible to the general public, but we should all have Mr. Hughes to thank for it. Coupled with the majesty of flight, it's an impressive film, but perhaps one that feels just like the legacy of Howard Hughes: incomplete.

Overall Score: 3 out of 5 stars