A Martin Scorsese film, this period piece selects part of Howard Hughes' life, from ages 21 to 45, and shows it to us in caricature.  The props, sets and clothes for the 1930s and 1940s demonstrate painstaking work but suffer from the lack of authenticity that comes from everything looking brand new. 

            Regardless, the flavor of the times and Hughes' contribution is there.  Like the 19^th century robber barons, Hughes' impact on our lives was monumental.  He had vision!   And it's that fact that gives this film historical relevance. 

            It's not an easy film to watch because while it lauds his genius and vision it also depicts his psychological descent into neurotic mania.  Leonardo DiCaprio portrays both successfully. 

Cate Blanchett is marvelous as Katherine Hepburn.  She captures the voice and the New England attitude, but I would have expected nothing less.  Hepburn, after all, was documented in numerous films.  So Blanchett had ample input and we respond to the "voice."  We don't know if it is the real Hepburn, but it is certainly the screen Hepburn. 

            DiCaprio on the other hand, had much less to work with.  Hughes's downward spiral was reclusive and hidden by his caretakers and workers.  DiCaprio created Hughes for us as much as he depicted him.  Also, as the protagonist, our full attention is on him, every word, every movement, every reaction.  DiCaprio looked like a boyish actor at the beginning of the story but became believably Hughes by the end.  I thought it a remarkable and difficult performance and one of his best. 

            Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Ian Holm and Alan Alda all provide strong support roles, although I have difficulty with Alda in a serious role.  He will always be Hawkeye from the TV series, M*A*S*H (1972).

            The screenplay also plays with the advantages of genius and the disadvantages of obsession.  It's a fascinating study of how little we know about the future effect of our actions.  Hughes made an enormous contribution to aviation, yet his obsessions wasted wealth and energy on a dying technology in the Spruce Goose (Hercules) and overlooked the early development of jet planes during WWII.  The Germans used jets and even flew an experimental rocket plane.   

The screenplay implies that Hughes' mental deterioration was somehow related to his mother.  I thought that implication unnecessary to the story and possibly even incorrect.

            On the other hand, the story omits interesting facts.  Hughes attended two technology colleges, was orphaned at age 17 and quit school to take over his father's Hughes Tool Co. in Houston. 

            Hughes died in 1976 at age 71, appropriately enough, in a plane flying over Texas.  The film includes much of the controversy that followed him through his life.  It does not touch the sensational million dollar fraudulent memoir that made headlines in 1971 or the appearance of multiple forged wills after his death.   

Finally, for those special effects buffs, there's a spectacular plane crash scene.

Reviewed July 19, 2005                Copyright 2005 Charles T. Markee

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, nudity, language and a crash sequence.