The Aviator (2004)

What a haunting and wonderful film this is. Directed by who is arguably the single greatest director of the first century of cinema, Martin Scorsese, The Aviator single-handedly walks into my favorite film list within one simple three-hour viewing, as probably will Scorsese’s entire catalog. Nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winning five, The Aviator stars one of the single best American actors, Leonardo DiCaprio, as Howard Hughes, an extremely successful film producer (popping out films like Hell’s Angels and Scarface: The Shame of the Nation) and aviation magnate in his prime, from the late 1920s to 1947, while he slowly grows more and more unstable due to a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. With a wonderful supporting cast including Adam Scott, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Kate Beckinsale, and Cate Blanchett in an Oscar-winning role playing Katherine Hepburn. This completely star-studded production stands as one of the single greatest American motion pictures in memory, a nearly-perfect film at that. Martin Scorsese very rarely ever makes less-than 4-star films, he made Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Hugo, The Departed, among many others that were awarded a well-deserved 4-star rating for Roger Ebert and everyone else on the planet. Martin Scorsese really can do no wrong. He is one of the single greatest directors ever to grace movies, and every time his name is on a film, I will fight tooth-and-nail for a ticket. Martin Scorsese really should have more than one Oscar under his belt right now, at the very least, he should have won Best Director for this film. The only thing keeping this film from multiple Oscars is Million Dollar Baby, which was also released in 2004. The Aviator is a truly haunting film, one with true, real, and brilliant performances, a wonderful script, and a perfect director. I cannot recommend this film highly enough, both as a study of one of the most disturbed people in film (the final shot of this film is scarier than most of those in a horror film), and as another chapter in the catalog of one of the most brilliant people in film.
9.5/10