Upon its release, "Titanic" was compared to "Gone With the Wind," which seemed to indicate the studio was trying to recoup
production costs for the most expensive movie ever made, or writer-director James Cameron has engineered a juggernaut not seen since the glory days of David O. Selznik's Civil War classic. It's the
latter.
"Titanic" is a monumental undertaking, monster entertainment that can only be pulled off by Hollywood's mountains of money and
audacious hunger for spectacle. It's two movies in one: a moving love story exposing American class divisions plus a near-unbelievable action film with shots and scenes that are truly epic.
James Cameron pulls off a mind-boggling feat: a 3 hour historical epic threaded through with a poignant and touchingly human love story, a testament to the folly and grandeur of humanity reaching
to defy nature, evoking and comparing a long-ago age of grace with our crass technical time, and the most awesome special effects ever seen on screen. I mean "ever." The famous aerial shot from
'Gone With the Wind' is evoked again and again, except these are action shots, not a mere static panorama. The great ship's sinking is frighteningly realistic in its sharply observed details (cables
snapping with a zing, the boat tearing in two). "Titanic" is jam-packed with information seamlessly worked into the movie's dramatic events, facts and observations (Rose calculates the number of
lifeboats) later illustrated with devastating explicitness. What's most amazing is how crisply delineated and clear the mayhem is. The action is never muddled or confusing despite scene
after scene of calamitous destruction.
Cameron's screenplay has an unusually literate structure for a Hollywood film. "Titanic" opens with modern-day treasure hunter
Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton)
seeking a fortune and finding a mysterious drawing instead. Rose (film veteran Gloria Stuart, proving star quality never ages) holds the key to the drawing and her memories of her voyage on the Titanic form the movie's dramatic core. The film melts back
and forth from past to present as Rose tells her story to the fortune hunters. Young Rose DeWitt Bukator
(played by the infallibly good Kate Winslet) is a spoiled, unhappy girl traveling to America with her boorish fiancee Cal Hockley (boo-hiss Billy Zane, who seems to be impersonating Donald Trump crossed with Snidely Whiplash) and calculating mother (Frances Fisher, icy perfection as a sharp-tongued socialite). As Rose boards the ship with
mountains of luggage and a personal safe, Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio, shedding his fragile airs for robust mischievousness) wins tickets in a poker game and is elated at his good fortune. Cameron packs a History Channel's worth of
observations into this speedy sequence as 3rd class passengers are checked for lice, pampered 1st Class dogs are brought aboard, and Jack bounds onto the ship with only a duffel bag. Cameron uses
the boarding sequence to take us on a tour of the ship, moving the camera with smooth efficiency in long sweeping shots that fill the screen with the luxury of the ship in its brand-new glory. Cameron
duplicates underwater shots of the sunken ship with shots of the ship on its maiden voyage, in an excellent device tying past to present that's both creepy and marvelous.
Rose is so stifled by her
relentlessly close-minded fiancee (who makes fun of her Picassos and Monets) and the pressures behind her marriage that she undertakes a dangerous action early in the crossing. Jack's at hand, and
saves her from trouble for the first time. This scene between Rose and Jack is delightful. Winslet and DiCaprio generate enormous screen chemistry and the shift in dynamics between the two leads
is a delight as they move from emotional hysteria to annoyance to fear to complicity. Jack and Rose are very different people, yet we know from the start that they're perfect for each other.
Cameron writes lovely scenes of the two getting to know each other against glorious backgrounds of the elegant ship and phenomenal sunsets. The scene with Rose looking at Jack's drawings (done by
Cameron) is especially amusing. They're both scamps at heart and it's great fun watching these two guide each other through unfamiliar territory when each visits the other's social arena. Cameron
shows us both the huge difference in rich and poor folk's experience and demonstrates that Rose and Jack are comfortable anywhere, as long as they're together. Alas, forces conspire to keep the lovers
apart, as the pressures behind Rose's marriage are revealed and her future is foretold in a violent breakfast scene.
As all this is going on, Cameron has been cleverly imparting technical
information about the ship and familiarizing us with its layout as Jack and Rose have their adventures. When the iceberg appears, the sequence of events shown in the beginning of the film in
antiseptic emotion come to life with tremendous emotional impact. As Rose says, "The experience was quite different" and it is. Rose turns into a courageous action hero as she punches men and
wields a mean axe on Jack's behalf. Rose and Jack save each other time and again as they attempt to escape the doomed ship and the action is non-stop. Cameron knows how to handle action
spectacles, each more amazing than the last, and his pacing and ability to keep us on the edge of our seats is phenomenal. It's a roller-coaster ride of emotions and as the ship slowly goes down, the
human tragedy is made real.
Cameron's ability to keep the human element of this shocking tragedy gives these scenes their impact. DiCaprio does perhaps the finest work of his career as
the courageous artist. No wonder Rose loses her heart - Jack is brave, sensitive, funny and tender. Winslet is again nothing more than smashing good. She's done terrific work in high art
films, and shows star power to burn as she easily handles a very physical and different type of role. Rose begins as a brittle, sarcastic dilettante but develops into a true heroic figure through her
gutsy fight for Jack and her stubborn will to live.
Cameron's direction is miraculous in its consistency, eliciting fine work from the supporting cast as well as the leads, and shifts in point
of view that keep the story moving along at a crackerjack pace. He's able to handle revealing social scenes with insight and perception, homing in on their deadly bile, plus pull off scenes of mass
hysteria and destruction without succumbing to Godzilla overkill syndrome. Especially poetic and lovely transitions melting past into present and telling shots of the leads in their final scene
together.
Superb costume work, fine original score and very nice photography all add to the film's impact [ed. note: Oscars
for all three]. Meticulous attention to production detail (costumes, china and furnishings were exhaustively researched and duplicated) and
emphasis on the humanity involved give 'Titanic' an emotional impact missing from shiny techno-whiz films like 'Independence Day.' "Titanic" has heart and soul. Give the guy the Oscar, he
deserves it. "Titanic" is a feat of moviemaking on a gargantuan human scale not seen in my lifetime and lives up to all its hype. See it on the biggest screen you can find. Highly
recommended, there's something in this for everyone.
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