Titanic

Whenever a "movie event" like this happens, the pundits and armchair philosophers always roll out the most cynical carpet possible; more interested in reviewing the budget rather than the film, it has little chance of living up to all the gigantic expectations. Most super-budget thrillers are more than happy to suck, too—especially this year, a time of shattered expectations and C-minus multiplex fare.

Thank God, then, for James Cameron. He is quickly stealing the Best American Filmmaker mantle away from Spielberg, and "Titanic," the latest in a litany that includes "Aliens," "T2" and "The Abyss," is going to have its own constellation in the movie heavens one day.

The story concerns a 101-year-old woman named Rose (Gloria Stewart, herself a starlet from the '30s) who recognizes herself in a portrait drawn up from the deep Titanic wreckage by marine explorer Bill Paxton. Brought to the ship, she recounts her story on the Titanic—how she became betrothed to an asinine, classist jerk (Billy Zane), fell in love with a charismatic drifter (Leonardo DiCaprio) and survived the most horrifying sinking in North American memory.

Recounted in loving, detailed flashback, the visuals in this movie set new benchmarks for modern filmmakers; the panning shots of the ship—both afloat and in ruins—are nothing short of dazzling. On the human side, things wobble but don't sink: Billy Zane is positively uni-dimensional as the villian Cal Hockley, and Rose's mother (along with most of the rich people) are unbearable sots at best.

But here's where the movie is most surprising. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (as the young Rose) have such a palpable chemistry, an aching, star-crossed love for each other, that even the most cynical creeps in the theater long for them to succeed. Winslet is especially wonderful here, her gradual transformation to heroine ascending as the Titanic decends into the frozen Atlantic. Most movies have a problem convincing us that two people could be so in love after only knowing each other for two days; Cameron handles their relationship with the sort of passionate detail never seen in movies with a budget like this one.

There will be more than enough people telling you that "Titanic" wasn't worth it. There will be still others who will try to sink James Cameron as a toy-addled egoist. But my advice is this: sit near the front, turn off your awareness of the person sitting next to you, and prepare yourself for 3.5 hours of gargantuan magic. With Suzy Amis and Kathy Bates.

—Ian Williams

Return to Ian's movie reviews.