Titanic Review
by "Jason Wallis" (rwallis AT inreach DOT com)January 27th, 1998
"Titanic" (1997)
A Film Review by Jason Wallis
"Titanic" * * * *
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, David Warner and Bill Paxton
Directed by James Cameron
"Titanic": the two hundred million plus sink-or-swim epic with a boring, tired, overwrought romance for a storyline. Doesn't sound too promising, does it? I didn't think so either; I thought it was going to be just another big-budget bomb in the vein of "Waterworld" or "Speed 2: Cruise Control". It looked as though the film would sink faster than the ship. That is, until I read some of the rave reviews this has been getting by the public and critics alike. So I decided today to see what all the fuss was about.
Well, I definently found out. James Cameron's epic love story has got to be one of the most brilliantly crafted, beautifully filmed and wonderfully executed movies I have ever seen. And even with all the hype, the drawn-out story (I mean, honestly, how long can you really watch a romance involving Leonardo DiCaprio?) and long running time, Cameron has pulled it off.
At about three hours and fifteen minutes, this is by far the longest flick I've ever seen at a theater. Usually after about the two-and-a-half hour mark, you tend to get a little ancy and your ass starts to hurt, but not here. Oh, no. As soap operay (?) as the love theme may seem, it somehow manages to completely hold your attention for the full running time. And, as all truly great films do, it leaves you wanting more.
Just one of several things that makes the movie so worthwhile is that is works on many levels, a quality often missing from many modern films. On the surface, you have the best disaster pic of all time. You also have a wonderful romance that is the first truly moving pure love story since "Frankie and Johnny". A little deeper still, you have an excellent example of the class systems; the difference between the way the rich are treated and how the less fortunate are. "Titanic" is definently brilliant filmmaking at it's best.
The plot revolves around (of course) the sailing of the Titanic, the ship that was so callously refered to as "unsinkable". But far more intricate to the story is the relationship between Jack Dawson (Leonardo, in the best performance of his career thus far), a wandering drifter who won aticket aboard the Titanic in a poker game. He has barely anything in the world but is a pretty jolly guy anyway. On the other side of the coin, you've got Rose (Kate Winslet - shwing!), a poor little rich girl type who has it all; money, servants, a fiancee, everything. Except happiness.
Fed up with her miserable existence, Rose contemplates throwing herself off the ship. Jack saves her and the two instantly fall in love. Only she doesn't quite know it yet, so she takes some convincing. It doesn't help, either, that her jerk fiancee (Billy Zane, who deserves more credit for his performance in this film than he has gotten) is onboard, as is her snobby mother who needless to say does not take an instant liking to Jack's advances.
So the two start a heated love affair and in the middle of it all, the ship goes down. And that's basically all there is to the plot. But it is the attention to detail that Cameron puts into the picture that makes that film so worthwhile. Not to mention the actors, who put so much charisma into their characters that they help us feel like we are actually on that ship; that we are not merely watching a movie. They are just as important as the set pieces (which are amazing enough by themselves.
"Titanic" is a great film, to be sure, but it is also something more. It is a piece of art that hits you at just the right places and at just the right times that it makes you actually become extremely emotionally involved in it's characters. They hardly ever make movies like this anymore.
And one other thing. This movie should not be missed in a theater. Because of the beauty of the cinematography and the sets, you really should see this on the big screen. Several times, too. It's that great a film.
Even at it's mild pace (until the last hour, that is), "Titanic" is one of the rare flicks that carry you away to another place and another time. It's quite an experience. And though I am of the opinion that the absolute best film to come out of 1997 was Kevin Smith's beyond-brilliant "Chasing Amy", I just know that the Academy is too stupid and old-fashioned to get a movie like that any nominations, let alone Best Picture. So this is the one that I will be rooting for come Oscar time. In short, see this movie at all costs.
Check out Jason Wallis' Filmaholics Anonymous web page at
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/7475
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
