eonardo di Caprio does his level best with this pretty bust. He’s Howard Hughes, vain, ambitious, quirky, reclusive, fidgety, and so on. Director Martin Scorsese goes for sweep and gets it easily. Di Caprio is surrounded by special effects toys, and (more notably) by Cate Blanchett as Katie Hepburn. Liking this movie depends on like the mercurial, odds-beating Hughes that Scorsese has concocted. But even if you do like him his gradual descent into psychotic hell grows labored. As mid-century slice-of-life Americana, the movie is on handsomely on target. Otherwise it’s a lumbering piece of expensive furniture that’s hard to move.
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About the Author: Marcia Yarrow
A military brat, Marcia Yarrow was born in Hamburg, Germany but grew up in Germany, Spain, and Provo, Utah. She's been writing for the magazine since its creation in 2004.