Okay, here's the deal. There's a feeling that comes over folks around this time of year that can only be explained as "holiday letdown." You spend so long preparing for the actual day that the day itself is right about ho-hum. In your mind, you build it up and build it up, and then there's just no way that the event itself can live up to what you've made it to be in your head.
That's why I found it somewhat ironic that Jim Cameron's much-heralded epic Titanic was scheduled to come out so close to Christmas. So many people have offered their criticism to the movie, because of the mega-zillion dollar budget, because of the casting, because of the effects, that, regardless of how good the movie actually was, there was no way it would live up to all the whining and moaning about "Cameron's Folly." Speculation had it that this would be the biggest disaster ever filmed, and I ain't talkin' plotline.
But, you see, the one factor nobody took into consideration is the wildest card in the deck, Jim Cameron himself. Say what you want about his maniacal obsessions, his directorial techniques, his uncaring outlook on budgeting. I want you to ask yourself one question: If anyone could pull this thing off, isn't Cameron the most likely culprit?
There aren't too many directors out there that have consistently made moviegoers slump back in their seats and quietly say, "My God." Cameron has done time and again. He completely redefined the science-fiction genre with a little ditty called The Terminator. He made the first successful blend of sci-fi, horror, and action with Aliens, and actually got his star nominated for an Oscar® in the meantime. He gave birth to a new sort of special effect with his film The Abyss, one of the more underrated movies of the past twenty years, if you ask me. He took this new effect technique and drove it to the outer stratosphere with Terminator 2: Judgement Day. It seems to me that the only thing Jim Cameron needs to push him to perfection is to have a hundred people tell him there's no way it can be done.
And, for almost a year now, people have been crying from the mountaintops that there was no way that Cameron was going to win with Titanic. Everybody in the business has been waiting for him to fall flat on his face with this obsession he has with the legendary lost ocean liner. He's been called a fool, a dreamer, and an egotistical madman.
Got a news flash for you, folks. He did it again. And, yes, you will say, "My God."
There's little need for me to run the history of the boat for you. That story, though, is wrapped into two others. A famous treasure hunter (Bill Paxton) is out to find the Titanic's safe. He does, only to pull a Geraldo and find it virtually empty, except for a drawing of a nude woman wearing only a beautiful necklace. An elderly woman recognizes the drawing as herself. This woman, Rose (Gloria Stuart) is one of the few survivors of the Titanic still alive. Her story aboard the ship becomes the other story. Young Rose, played by Kate Winslett, is unhappily engaged to Cal Hockley, a steel heir. She has been forced into this marriage by her other (Frances Fisher), and she's miserable.
As she's rushing to the desk railing to jump overboard, she runs into Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), an artist who's making the crossing in steerage. Jack has seen Rose before on the boat, and is infatuated with her. A romance unfolds, with Rose teaching Jack how to fit in with the upper crust, and Jack teaching Rose that people are people, no matter what class they travel in. And we have a nice, albeit sappy romance for a while.
Then comes the iceberg, and then comes, "My God." Absolutely amazing effects and assorted water-bound horrors become the forefront. Rich people taking over the lifeboats, acts of nobility, a nut with a gun, heroic rescues, lost children, you name it. Computer-generated effects blend with actual stunts and actors in freezing water to convince you that this boat is actually going down before our eyes.
Granted, there are some things in this film that don't quite work. Some of the supporting characters are left as one-dimensional, and that's a tragedy, 'cause Kathy Bates steals every scene she's in as the legendary Molly Brown. She could've been used more and better, but is relegated to the background. Billy Zane's bad guy-fiance is only a horse away from doing a Snidely Whiplash impression, leering and squinting and saying things that you would ordinarily hear a Scooby Doo villain say. (Personal favorite - Zane's Hockley makes fun of a painting that Rose has purchased, saying, "He'll never amount to anything." The artist? Picasso.) With these facts in mind, even these flaws work out because every character in this film is an icon, a stereotype of another time and thought. Cameron has put a feel of the 1940's melodrama to work in the storytelling that pushes these characterizations. They may seem wooden, but they're almost supposed to be, if that makes any sense.
The much-ballyhooed computer-effects are phenomenal. Some scenes work better than others, just because of their grandeur, but even when you can see the CGI at work, the scope of the effect overpowers the "generated" look. The best use of the computer, though, comes not from the broad, sweeping effects, but from the subtle, more gentle ones, when Cameron uses the technique to make almost otherworldly transitions between the wreckage two miles under the water and the majestic liner of 1912, tearing its way through the waves of the North Atlantic.
The acting jobs from DiCaprio and Winslet are star-making, and, while they aren't in a league with, say, Hopkins and Streep, they'll be going nowhere but up. Zane is just Zane, as we've seen him time and time again, no challenge, just there, gritting his teeth and looking down his nose. Make sure you pay attention to the performances by Paxton and Stuart, though. Paxton's face upon seeing the Titanic wreckage is a study in awe, and Stuart's gentle storytelling is marvelous.
Jim Cameron has done the impossible once again. He's blended perfect simple storytelling with high-volume acting and special effects, and he has, indeed, allowed the great ship Titanic to set sail again. The attention to detail makes this boat live again. Everything down to the original china patterns and sliverware has been recreated for this movie. Cameron built the boat over, filmed on it, and sank it, this time in a 5-million gallon tank.
He set out to give the world another mind-blowing movie, and did it. He also wanted it to be a romantic epic. He did that, too. Was it worth $200 million? After seeing the end product, I can say, "My God," and that can mean only yes. Will it make that money back? Probably. But, after you see Titanic for yourself, you won't care about the price tag or the hype, or whether or not it'll win an ocean of awards come Oscar-Golden Globe time. All you'll be able to think is, "My God...."
Copyrighted image courtesy of Paramount/Fox.
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