The Aviator

The Aviator is a biopic about the aviation magnate and Hollywood director Howard Hughes. With Leonardo Di Caprio in the title role, Martin Scorsese directing it, and a supporting cast including Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Kate Beckinsale and John C. Reilly, I was really looking forward to watching it.

Howard Hughes starts out as a director, and produces a few very successful films. Early on we see that he is completely devoted to this, and has a really need to get every aspect of his production as perfect as possible. This manifests later as profound obsessive compulsive disorder, but the early signs are there once you watch it back. After a very successful directing career he marries a woman (Cate Blanchett), but his successful lifestyle soon begins to causes their marriage problems. Hughes starts to focus on aviation and buys a large share of an airline company. Breaking a number of airspeed records, and experiencing a number of horrific crashes, Howard Hughes soon becomes a massive influence on aviation but then the cracks start to appear. His life becomes thrust into the public eye more and he becomes paranoid and compulsive. He is then investigated by the Senate and manages to defend himself successfully. However at the end of the film his compulsions become worse and the film end with him repeated ‘the way of the future’ over and over.

Scorsese is an absolute genius in my opinion, and has directed some of my favourite ever films. While The Aviator does not quite make the list, it is a very good film, and is fantastically made. For example, all the aeroplane scenes were shot using scale models because of the criticism that Pearl Harbor received for using CGI. This makes the film more of a spectacle, and makes it seem a lot more realistic. Scorsese’s impressive attention to detail shines through as well. For example, he made Cate Blanchett watch all the film that her character Katharine Hepburn had starred in up to the point of filming so that she could perfect her mannerisms. Not being particularly knowledgeable about Hepburn’s films, I can’t say whether or not Blanchett does a good job, but the level of devotion to perfection that Scorsese has (and indeed that Hughes had), is a hallmark of the best directors.

Di Caprio is wonderful to watch as the main character Howard Hughes. I really like him as an actor, and as a person, and think that The Aviator marks another example of his impressive skills. His perfection of the obsessive compulsive mannerisms of Hughes is brilliant, and while I don’t know how true to Hughes they are, he is very convincing when he displays them. Di Caprio conveys the fill range of emotions that Hughes experiences in the film with immense precision. When he is directing the films there is a sense of tension when something hasn’t gone perfectly, and when Hell’s Angels premiere’s the anxiety Di Caprio shows in anticipation of the audience’s reaction permeated through the screen (although that might just be me getting weird). He seems completely comfortable in the cockpit of an aeroplane, and Di Caprio’s ability to turn this joy and elation into sheer panic so convincingly completes the tension of the crash scenes. Since 2002, Di Caprio has appeared in all but one of Scorsese’s films and, given time, this could become as iconic a pairing as De Niro and Scorsese. Di Caprio’s acting stock is definitely on the increase, and The Aviator is just one example of why.

Although, it is not a film that is completely made by Di Caprio, and the supporting cast add an awful lot to the impact of the film. Cate Blanchett is fantastic as Hughes’ first wife, and manages her accent perfectly throughout the film. Her relationship with Hughes is intriguing. Although they may grow apart, when she comes to visit him in his isolation there is a sense that the chemistry is still there. Alec Baldwin plays Hughes’ main rival Juan Trippe, the chairman of Pan Am airways. His determination to impede the progress of the protagonist makes him a dislikable character in the film, and this is only compounded by the influence he has over the politicians. No-one seems to want to help Hughes succeed except those who he employs. Even then Hughes is suspicious of nearly everyone around him. Alec Baldwin comes to represent the people plotting against Hughes and the eventual defeat of the Senate investigation is one of the best moments of the film. A quick mention must also go to John C. Reilly. When I reviewed Carnage I think I mentioned how strange it was not to see him in a comedy role, and once again in The Aviator it felt a bit odd. However, he does very well and seems to be forging himself a more serious acting career. All the evidence so far suggests that this can only be a good thing.

The Aviator is not a high powered, joy-filled, rollercoaster of a film. It does have its ups and its downs in terms of keeping the audience’s interest. However, as with any biopic, it is an opportunity to find out a little bit more about something new, and if you get into it, it is thoroughly enjoyable. It is very long (just short of three hours), but if you have the patience to sit down and engage with it, I think it will be well worth your time.

Other films starring Leonardo Di Caprio

Django Unchained - http://mattsthoughtsonmovies.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/django-unchained.html

The Great Gatsby - http://mattsthoughtsonmovies.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/the-great-gatsby.html

Other films directed by Martin Scorsese

Casino - http://mattsthoughtsonmovies.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/casino_28.html

Raging Bull - http://mattsthoughtsonmovies.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/raging-bull.html

Another Scorsese-Di Caprio film

The Departed - http://mattsthoughtsonmovies.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/the-departed.html

Carnage

Carnage is a film which I was persuaded to watch after a recommendation from a friend. It basically revolves around four characters: two sets of parents who have come together to talk out the issue of their two boys having a fight. One child has hit the other with a stick, and the parents are discussing what the best thing to do is. Throughout the film we see more and more of the character of these individuals, and we see shifting dynamics among the four of them, as well as more and more childish actions.

The highlight of the film for me was Christoph Waltz. I've only recently discovered Waltz's talents, but I think he’s a fantastic actor. He plays the father of the boy who has attacked the other. Throughout the film he is attached to his phone, only communicating with the others through generally sarcastic or snide comments, and providing me with a source of near-constant amusement. His character is devoted to his work, and Waltz does an excellent job of reflecting the kind of father who is too busy to really care what his child does. His response to the ‘destruction’ of his phone perfectly reflects how broken he is without it. Also, when his wife is sick he spends more of his time worrying about the state of his suit and doesn't even ask if she is okay. His character remains vaguely constant throughout the film, providing an amusing antagonistic note to Jodie Foster on many occasions.

Jodie Foster plays the mother of the attacked child, and for me, she is wonderful. Some consider her to be ‘over-the-top’ in this role, but I think she does magnificently. Her character is just the over-concerned, over-protective mother everyone has had experience of at some point. Her concern for her son and her moral beliefs become somewhat accentuated throughout the film, and Foster does an excellent job. She clearly regards the other parents as lesser to her and comes across as a very strong mother initially. However, there are continual signs of weakness, most obviously when the alcohol starts to come out. On occasion she makes very pointed and forked comments about the incident in defence of her son, and her very maternal attitude is in direct contrast to Kate Winslet.

Kate Winslet comes across as the perfect wife for Christoph Waltz. She too is a career-driven woman and considers the talk that these four parents are having to be little more than a distraction from her work. However, in many ways she is the fulcrum of the film. It is her that is sick (hilarious, by the way), producing the first major conflict. It is her that walks out on numerous occasions. It is her who flies off the handle and drops her husband’s phone into the water. She is often the source of many of the conflicts. Her attitude starts out as very reconciliatory but as the film progresses she becomes much more likely her husband. Towards the end of the film she comes across much more of an infant, and her reaction to her bag being thrown reflects much about her as a character. Kate Winslet also shines in this role, and her antagonism of John C. Reilly is almost a direct parallel of her husband’s antagonism of Jodie Foster.

John C. Reilly is an interesting addition to this film. It is quite a change from many of his other films, but he is marvellous in it nonetheless. His character undergoes perhaps the most dramatic change throughout the course of the film. He starts off as a very welcoming and loving father, but there are obvious cracks beneath the surface, and his attitude towards vermin is another source of conflict. However, he soon develops into a thoroughly dislikeable character that shows little consideration for anyone else in his life, with the possible exception of his mother. His character change causes the group dynamic to change, resulting in a gender split to the group.

The whole dynamic of the group is magnificently set up by Roman Polanski, and I think that ‘Carnage’ is one of his better films. The alliance shifts and character developments are a joy to watch and I’m quite surprised that it wasn’t nominated for any Academy Awards. I think it is quite a subtle film but one that is very enjoyable once you get into the nitty-gritty of it. Browsing through some of the films that were nominated for Best Picture in 2011, there are a couple of recognisable films, but none that fly off the screen at me. I think Carnage is good enough to have been nominated, and at least good enough for one of the actors to receive a nomination.

I think Carnage is a good film, and one that I’m glad I was recommended. I can only pass on the recommendation to you reader. I would strongly suggest that you see this film, not because it’s a Hollywood blockbuster, not because it has a deep underlying meaning or anything like that. I think you should watch it because it is enjoyable.