A Film Review by Jason Wallis

"Titanic" * * * *
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, David Warner and Bill Paxton
Directed by James Cameron

"Titanic": the two hundred million plus sink-or-swim epic with a boring,
tired, overwrought romance for a storyline. Doesn't sound too promising,
does it? I didn't think so either; I thought it was going to be just
another big-budget bomb in the vein of "Waterworld" or "Speed 2: Cruise
Control". It looked as though the film would sink faster than the ship.
That is, until I read some of the rave reviews this has been getting by the
public and critics alike. So I decided today to see what all the fuss was
about.

Well, I definently found out. James Cameron's epic love story has got to be
one of the most brilliantly crafted, beautifully filmed and wonderfully
executed movies I have ever seen. And even with all the hype, the drawn-out
story (I mean, honestly, how long can you really watch a romance involving
Leonardo DiCaprio?) and long running time, Cameron has pulled it off.

At about three hours and fifteen minutes, this is by far the longest flick
I've ever seen at a theater. Usually after about the two-and-a-half hour
mark, you tend to get a little ancy and your ass starts to hurt, but not
here. Oh, no. As soap operay (?) as the love theme may seem, it somehow
manages to completely hold your attention for the full running time. And,
as all truly great films do, it leaves you wanting more.

Just one of several things that makes the movie so worthwhile is that is
works on many levels, a quality often missing from many modern films. On
the surface, you have the best disaster pic of all time. You also have a
wonderful romance that is the first truly moving pure love story since
"Frankie and Johnny". A little deeper still, you have an excellent example
of the class systems; the difference between the way the rich are treated
and how the less fortunate are. "Titanic" is definently brilliant
filmmaking at it's best.

The plot revolves around (of course) the sailing of the Titanic, the ship
that was so callously refered to as "unsinkable". But far more intricate to
the story is the relationship between Jack Dawson (Leonardo, in the best
performance of his career thus far), a wandering drifter who won aticket
aboard the Titanic in a poker game. He has barely anything in the world but
is a pretty jolly guy anyway. On the other side of the coin, you've got
Rose (Kate Winslet - shwing!), a poor little rich girl type who has it all;
money, servants, a fiancee, everything. Except happiness.

Fed up with her miserable existence, Rose contemplates throwing herself off
the ship. Jack saves her and the two instantly fall in love. Only she
doesn't quite know it yet, so she takes some convincing. It doesn't help,
either, that her jerk fiancee (Billy Zane, who deserves more credit for his
performance in this film than he has gotten) is onboard, as is her snobby
mother who needless to say does not take an instant liking to Jack's
advances.

So the two start a heated love affair and in the middle of it all, the ship
goes down. And that's basically all there is to the plot. But it is the
attention to detail that Cameron puts into the picture that makes that film
so worthwhile. Not to mention the actors, who put so much charisma into
their characters that they help us feel like we are actually on that ship;
that we are not merely watching a movie. They are just as important as the
set pieces (which are amazing enough by themselves.

"Titanic" is a great film, to be sure, but it is also something more. It is
a piece of art that hits you at just the right places and at just the right
times that it makes you actually become extremely emotionally involved in
it's characters. They hardly ever make movies like this anymore.

And one other thing. This movie should not be missed in a theater. Because
of the beauty of the cinematography and the sets, you really should see
this on the big screen. Several times, too. It's that great a film.

Even at it's mild pace (until the last hour, that is), "Titanic" is one of
the rare flicks that carry you away to another place and another time. It's
quite an experience. And though I am of the opinion that the absolute best
film to come out of 1997 was Kevin Smith's beyond-brilliant "Chasing Amy",
I just know that the Academy is too stupid and old-fashioned to get a movie
like that any nominations, let alone Best Picture. So this is the one that
I will be rooting for come Oscar time. In short, see this movie at all
costs.

Check out Jason Wallis' Filmaholics Anonymous web page at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/7475