The Aviator
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Danny Huston, Ian Holm with Matt Ross, and Jude Law.

I'd never thought I'd say this but I found the Aviator to be even better than Sideways. I was thinking to myself, "Can there be a better American film than Sideways?." I kept repeating this to myself like Hughes when he turned mad. No, I didn't go crazy but I found myself loving every minute of this film. Sure Sideways is amazing, hilarious, and perfectly written but to have your mind enraptured into the film is almost an impossibility. Sure you relate to these characters, you sympathize with him, but after numerous viewings it begins to wear off. The emotional chemistry between viewer and character begins to dissipate with Sideways but with the Aviator all I could think of is the man on screen, Howard Hughes.

After the quite brilliant but still heavily flawed "Gangs of New York," I was expecting "The Aviator" to be a flawed film but still quite good. This is not a film that is good, it's not okay, it's great. It's Scorsese's best film since Goodfellas. This is a masterpiece by all means and only Scorsese can bring it to the viewer like no one else. Every scene is shot with remarkble panache by cinematographer extraordinare Robert Richardson with colors that explode and splash on the screen. The sets designed by acclaimed set designer Dante Ferretti are downright breathtaking and the clothes of the 20s, 30s, and 40s are amazingly brought back to life by Sandy Powell.

Scorsese takes all these brilliant elements and creates a stunningly beautiful film. Perhaps the most beautiful American film of the year (House of Flying Daggers is still the most beautiful film of the year). But without great acting, Scorsese's direction can mean nothing. De Niro was once Scorsese's actor but DiCaprio is his De Niro and wow, what an amazing performance. His roles in Titanic, The Basketball Diaries, What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, and others were great but here DiCaprio gives his all as the aviator/director himself, Howard Hughes. In what can be called his first role simply as a mature character, DiCaprio gives Hughes many subtle nuances and amazing quirks that are completely genius. Jamie Foxx may be great as Ray Charles but we knew the way he moved, the way he spoke, etc. Here, we never knew who Hughes was, but DiCaprio brings all his acting talents to make us believe that it's Hughes on the screen not DiCaprio.

Another awesome performance comes from Academy Award-nominated actress Cate Blanchett. Playing Katherine Hepburn is a fine line between acting and parody and here we believe it's Hepburn on the screen. Blanchett gives her Hepburn the zest we're used to seeing Hepburn in her real life. She's truly deserving of the supporting actress Oscar for this role. It would be a folly if she lost. Performances from Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, John C. Reilly, and Matt Ross are all mesmerizing. Credit has to go to two actors, Alec Baldwin and Matt Ross, for their compelling performances. Matt Ross gives his character a sensibility that is the opposite of Hughes go for broke attitude. He plays Glenn Odekirk or "Odie" with acting that is arresting, a character who lives by Hughes order. Alec Baldwin gives his villainous character a bit of relaxation and patience not seen in many villains these days and who says the word "fuck" in such a great way.

If there was only one weak performance it would have to be Kate Beckinsale. Beckinsale feels weak in this myriad of absorbing and compelling performances. Her delivery of dialogue seems to be forced rather than relaxed. She just seems to play Kate Becksinsale rather than Ava Gardner. The balleyhooed role of Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow is just all hype. She's only in the film for at the most, one minute. Stefani should just stick to music.

Despite two weak performances, the screenplay is quite excellent. John Logan gives Hughes a complexity comparable to many of the characters of Scorsese's earlier works. Logan's Hughes is more of an amalgamation of Scorsese's main heroes from his earlier films. He writes his characters as tried and true humans rather than black and white heroes and villains.

Apart from the weaknesses, Scorsese's film is absolutely breathtaking in its scope and audacity. It truly is the work of an accomplished and truly gifted filmmaker. This is Scorsese at the top of his form. It brilliantly focuses not only on Hughes' successes but also his failures and into his downward spiral into madness. It is simply the best American made film of the year (sorry Sideways). If you were to watch one American film this year. This is it. Brilliant, mesmerizing, and exceptional, this is one of the best films of the year.

Grade: A+