The life of Howard Hughes is an examination in contrasts. The billionaire, who inherited the fortune his family had made in the tool business, liked to dream big. He wanted to make big airplanes and big films and date the most beautiful actresses, yet he was never comfortable in the spotlight himself. The longer he was a public figure, the more reclusive he became. He had personal and physical problems which eventually made him a virtual recluse, yet he spent many years fighting his problems while remaining a public figure.
Martin Scorsese's movie "The Aviator" takes a look at Hughes during a 20-year span where he was most visible to the public. Howard (Leonardo DiCaprio) is, at first, very active in his business endeavors, including the making of "Hell's Angels," which took him three years to complete, at a then-record cost of $4 million. He does, however, hire Noah Dietrich (John C. Reilly) as a business manager, who has to find ways to make Hughes's dreams a reality. Howard also employs Johnny Meyer (Adam Scott) as a publicity agent. Both Dietrich and Meyer see the eccentricities in Hughes, but they find a way to accept Hughes for the man he is. Paying for their services at a premium probably helped.
When Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic, Howard turned to his chief aviation mechanic, Glen "Odie" Odekirk (Matt Ross) to make a plane that could fly around the world. When that plane was made, Hughes circled the globe in four days. They also worked on many other experimental planes, including the infamous Spruce Goose. When Hughes wanted to get into the business of commercial aviation to Europe with his Trans World Airlines, Pan Am president Juan Trippe (Alec Baldwin) tried to use his political connections and Hughes's character flaws to monopolize that arena. When Hughes gets a government contract during World War II to make airplanes that were never delivered, he's labeled as unpatriotic by Senator Ralph Brewster (Alan Alda). He demands answers to Hughes's spending and is summoned to Washington to answer the inquiries.
Hughes also had a string of relationships with actresses. He attended the premiere of "Hell's Angels" with its star, Jean Harlow (Gwen Stefani). In the forties, he was involved with actresses Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale) and Faith Domergue (Kelli Garner) at the same time. His longest relationship, though, was with Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett), who couldn't have been much more the opposite of Hughes. She was warm, outgoing, and free-spirited, while he was stoic, and capable of turning abrasive and defensive when somebody pushed him. When she takes Howard to meet her parents, he becomes very direct to questions of theirs that he feels are demeaning. In the end, each woman needed distance from the dark world which consumed Howard Hughes more and more as he grew older.
"The Aviator" is a touching and sympathetic portrait of a man who literally faded out of the public view. He lived in two worlds: one where his dreams often became reality, and another where his reality seemed like a bad dream. On one hand, he was a brilliant businessman, knowing what he wanted, and surrounding himself with the people who could make his wishes happen. On the other hand, he was obsessed with cleanliness. It had been ingrained in him as a boy, and as an adult, he often carried soap with him. Some of his problems, though, were physical. He had a hearing impairment, and injuries from certain crashes nearly cost him his life and affected him. Screenwriter John Logan, though, never singles out any of these factors as the cause of Hughes's reclusiveness. Perhaps it was his penchant for combativeness that kept him going for some twenty years. Director Martin Scorsese shows Hughes as a man who fought against his demons for as long as he could, and who accomplished much in spite of himself.
DiCaprio brings both sides of Howard Hughes to life with his performance. DiCaprio delivers a comic eccentricity in early scenes while making "Hell's Angels." In one scene, he approaches Louis B. Mayer (Stanley DeSantis) about the loan of some MGM cameras for the "Hell's Angels" shoot. Hughes also wants the weather to be perfect, so he hires Professor Fitz (Ian Holm) to keep him appraised when the weather was to Hughes's liking. DiCaprio also shows the man who becomes more erratic than eccentric, as he conducts business with Trippe behind a closed door. Blanchett also does well as Hepburn, who has become one of America's most respected and beloved actresses. Blanchett, as Hepburn, is friendly and outgoing and everything that DiCaprio's Hughes is not. This relationship personifies the adage, "Opposites attract." The relationship eventually proves to be too opposite for Hepburn. Alda is also strong in his supporting role as a senator trying to crack Hughes. Jude Law and Willem Dafoe make cameo appearances in this picture. Scorsese manages to bring out the best in both the lead performer and all of the people who share time with DiCaprio on the screen. Scorsese includes himself in voice as a film projectionist.
Howard Hughes may have eventually taken refuge in a world that no outsider could understand, but he had a business genius that left its mark in the fields of film and of aviation. "The Aviator" shows the determination of a man who had a vision of a future where planes could go anywhere in the world, and a desire to make films that people would enjoy. His life was filled with people he admired for their skill and whom he probably wanted to emulate to an extent. When others wanted to take advantage of his problems, he found the strength and the intellect to give them a fight. "The Aviator" is equal parts of joy and sadness, and of light and darkness. Like his Spruce Goose, Howard Hughes may not have flown for long, but when he did, he did it memorably.
Other reviews related to the 2004 Best Picture Oscar nominees:
Finding Neverland -
http://www.epinions.com/content_167945211524
Million Dollar Baby -
http://www.epinions.com/content_174768033412
Ray -
http://www.epinions.com/content_166815633028
Sideways -
http://www.epinions.com/content_167707577988 
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