My First Impressions of "Titanic"
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| I'm the king of the box office! (Image source: Eye For Film) |
One of the many things I hope to do with this newly created blog is share my thoughts and opinions on things I've checked out recently- "things" of course referring to movies, shows and any other media I consume on a regular basis. It's not like this is the most original use of a blog space, but as someone who wants to eventually dip his toes into the realm of creating content on YouTube, I think it'll be a nice sort of transitional activity, one that'll help me strengthen my critical voice and become better at voicing my opinions in a publicized manner. Incidentally, I stayed up last night watching James Cameron's Titanic with my mom, so here I am writing about it.
Even if you've never seen Titanic, you've undeniably heard of it or at least seen it referenced in other media or by other people. Seeing that it was one of the biggest films of all time when it came out (and still is in many respects), I felt I owed it to myself to watch the film at least once in my lifetime, and decided on a whim that now was the time to do so. Now it's one movie I can cross off my never-ending bucket list, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I realize it's had quite a bit of backlash over the years for various reasons, and it's pretty easy to see why, as it's an easy film to hate. Everything from the cheesy love story to the dramatization of a real-life tragedy to just the fact of it being a pretty huge film at the time in terms of budget- it all made and still does make it an easy target for criticism. Regardless of any of that, though, I found it to just be an enjoyable (except when it was heart-wrenching) film that duly deserves it's unexpected level of popularity.
Above all, Titanic is just an absolute spectacle, especially for the time it was made. If there's anything that everyone can agree on, it's that Cameron did one hell of a job in terms of recreating the RMS Titanic. As a matter of fact, he shot actual submarine footage of the sunken ship in 1995 which was used both in the beginning of the film and as reference for the various models used in the film. Clearly it paid off, as although I'm no historian, it's clear that a great level of attention to detail was put into the design aspect of the movie. Regardless of accuracy, it's really just incredible to see these massive set pieces that feel so impossibly real; particularly impressive, of course, were the scenes of the ship sinking, as morbid as it is to say, which feel so real that the entire latter act of the movie was genuinely harrowing to watch. Overall, the special effects are incredible, and have aged quite spectacularly (other than a few CGI-looking blokes I noticed falling off the sides of the ship towards the end).
Of course, effects and set design aren't all that matter in a film. Not that one couldn't easily justify watching Titanic for the breathtaking visuals, but the story and script are what seem to divide people's opinion of this movie overall. Many have criticized Titanic for taking a real-life tragedy and injecting it with a sappy Romeo and Juliet-type love story for the sake of appealing to teenage girls and other such hopeless romantics. Personally, I think it's brilliant; say what you will, but the idea of having a love story set on the Titanic is as natural as setting a Disney Channel movie in high school, and I'm willing to believe that Cameron chose to do so in earnest for the sake of heightening the emotional aspect of things. The movie does a damn fine job of getting you invested in Jack and Rose, our star-crossed lovers played by Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, respectively, and knowing from the start that they're both pretty much f***ed somehow makes it all the more heart-wrenching to see them grow so close, only to have everything ripped away so suddenly.
Both DiCaprio and Winslet's characters I found to be likeable, and both actors did a great job of portraying their respective characters. It's easy to see why this film pretty much carried the DiCaprio-mania of the late 90s, as not only was he a major cutie (yes, even I can't deny it), but his performance as Jack Dawson really does exude likeability. Leo wouldn't necessarily be my first pick for playing a lower-class teenage boy from the 1910s, but that's not to call him out-of-place, as I'd say he plays into the role pretty well. As a side note, I actually recently saw DiCaprio in this past year's Don't Look Up, and it's weird seeing him so much younger here. I know it's been 25 years, so it goes without saying that he's aged quite a bit, but even just his voice is so much deeper now than it was when Titanic was made. It's just crazy to think how much one changes from their 20s to their mid-40s, isn't it?
That tangent aside, Winslet also does a great job at playing into her role as Rose, who is pretty much the classic rich-yet-sympathetic type female lead. She's both a talented actor AND incredibly hot gorgeous, so I'm hard-pressed not to call her a perfect fit. Her and DiCaprio share an undeniable chemistry, and again, it makes it all the more depressing to know where it's all gonna lead in the end. Jack and Rose are, unsurprisingly, not based on real people, but many of the other side characters shown in the film are indeed based on real passengers who were present on the RMS Titanic when she fell at the hands of that darned iceberg. Such individuals include the ship's captain (who, spoiler alert, poetically chooses to go down with his ship as it sinks), an American socialite named Margaret "Molly" Brown who survived and tried to help rescue others as the ship sank, and the ship's band, who famously played music to the very end in order to help keep people calm (and, ultimately, none of whom made it out alive). Other very small touches (such as one which I won't spoil but destroyed me and many others who've seen this movie) were derived from real anecdotes about the ship's demise, and somewhat ironically breathe life into the entire film.
I've talked about Titanic's narrative upsides, but even I can't deny to admit that there are flaws as well. For me, easily the biggest one was the very over-the-top villain character who, though played very well by Billy Zane, felt excessive and unneeded in many ways. Being the typical "stuffy-rich-guy-that-the-lead-women-is-engaged-to-for-money's-sake-but-doesn't-truly-love-over-the-male-protagonist" archetype, I don't necessarily object to his inclusion in the first place, as he serves as the centerpiece of the main conflict (besides, well, y'know), that being the class differences between Jack and Rose which ultimately stand in the way of their passionate, car-sex-abound romance. Without him, there wouldn't be much conflict in this regard, and I totally acknowledge that. What I DO object to is just how far they go in painting this guy as the ultimate douchemeister, to a point that really isn't necessary. I can accept his disdain for Jack as a reasonable character trait, as well as his violent tendencies shown in later parts of the film, and even the part where he frames him for stealing, though somewhat contrived and annoying, is tolerable, but once the iceberg comes into play and the ship starts sinking they turn him into a straight-up cartoon villain. I feel like part of what makes this narrative work so well is that all these passengers with their class differences are all pretty much in the same boat (no pun intended) once the big crash happens. It makes it all feel insignificant in comparison, and the extent they go in order to depict this guy as a total taint honestly undermines that somewhat. It's a minor complaint, but a complaint nonetheless. Besides this, there are other cheesy moments that are staples of 90s drama films, such as pointless slow motion shots and a few cheesy lines of dialogue, which don't detract from the movie but might turn some people off.
Still, no cartoonish villain character or slight cheesiness could stop this movie from completely captivating me in a manner that few other movies have done for me in quite a while. Yes, I'll fully admit- I did indeed cry during this movie. Not as much as I expected, actually, but one scene in particular seriously destroyed me, as I know it will any other emotional moviegoers out there. Honestly, the entire 3rd act is just one lost onslaught of depression and sorrow, and in the most effective way possible. As I said, they do a great job of really getting you attached to these characters to the point that the tragedy at the end just stings all the more.
I also can't go without talking about the audio in the film- not just the music and the famous Celine Dion song, but the sound design as well. The part that particularly stands out is, yet again, when the ship is sinking, specifically when Rose is in the lower class section at the bottom of the ship trying to find and rescue Jack. The entire time, as Rose is basically down by herself trudging through a rising pool of seawater, you hear the ship pretty much getting destroyed from the inside, and it sounds so bone-chilling, almost alien in nature. It's definitely a film worth watching in surround sound for this part alone, as it seriously adds to the atmosphere. The music, of course, it really good as well, with a score composed by the very talented and gone-too-soon James Horner. The Celine Dion song, as well, is another aspect of Titanic that's easy to make fun of, but I actually really dug it quite a bit. The song itself doesn't play until the end credits, but instrumental versions of it play throughout different parts of the movie (such as that famous scene on the bow of the ship), and it really grew on me. That flute melody that everyone knows really is quite beautiful; somehow I never realized how almost Celtic it feels. All I can really say is that it hit surprisingly hard.
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At this point I don't really have too much else to say about Titanic. It's a great movie, plain and simple. I wouldn't say it's for everyone, but it has undeniable strengths as both a period piece and a romantic tragedy, and I feel safe calling it a film that everyone should see at least once in their lives- if anything, for just how iconic it is. Sadly, the movie isn't really on any good streaming services in North America- not even Paramount+, despite being distributed by them here in the West. Unless you happen to be one of the 12 people with a Showtime subscription, you'll have to either buy/rent it online, or track down a physical copy of it such as the DVD. Fortunately, neither alternative is too expensive, as the move sold like hotcakes on every format and renting it on iTunes was only $4 for us. You could probably just go to Goodwill and find a DVD for like $2- hell, get the VHS if you really wanna watch it on a budget. Even the Laserdisc isn't that much if you're reeeeeeeeeeeally feeling unique. Regardless, I urge you to at least watch it at some point, as it's a pretty unforgettable experience, and a truly titanic (HA) piece of movie-making history.
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...and there's my 2nd blog post! Expect more in the near future, including probably another similar review and probably more VHS stuff once I've gotten more blank tapes ripped online. I just got through a batch of like 6, so maybe I'll talk about all of those in one big post seeing that they're all fairly short recordings. Until then, never let go.
~Tristan
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