REVIEW: Titanic (1997)
Rated PG-13 • 3 hours, 16 minutes • The bottom line: An extraordinarily well-told story, full of intrigue, romance and horror that left me in awe from start to finish.
Synopsis
An epic, winding tale about classism and privilege, Titanic follows the maiden voyage of the “unsinkable” ship and two very different passengers: Rose, a 17-year-old aristocrat and Jack, a poor artist.
Director: James Cameron
Writers: James Cameron
Key Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and Billy Zane
Producer: James Cameron and Jon Landau
Music: James Horner
Author’s note: This review contains some spoilers for the film Titanic.
What worked
The production quality and cinematography are extraordinary
The relationship between Rose (Winslet) and Jack (DiCaprio) felt natural and unforced, if a bit rushed
Supporting characters like Molly Brown (Kathy Bates) and Caledon Hockley (Billy Zane) were interesting and grounded
What didn’t work
Some scenes felt a bit long, particularly during the ship’s sinking
The use of “My Heart Will Go On” instrumental notes throughout was a bit cheesy
It’s a shame that Titanic’s lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t seem to like much of anything that’s over 25, because there’s a whole lot to like about this movie—including the actor’s performance. Going into my first ever viewing (a screening of the film for its 25th anniversary), I expected Titanic to be a straight dramatic romance story (as it’s so fondly considered by many in my circle) and while it certainly has elements of that, I was surprised by the overwhelming tones of horror and suspense that permeated its narrative.
At its roots, Titanic is a tale of classism—a dissection of the “us versus them” mentality and how in the early 1900s it swayed aristocrats and the wealthy to view those of fewer means as lesser beings, even in situations where everyone’s safety is at risk. The execution of that story framing is supremely effective, delivering a film that has unexpectedly finds itself now among my favorites of all-time.
The story is well-fleshed and full of interesting characters. But more to the point, Titanic is fun to watch, prompting me at every turn to wonder what would happen next in a movie where I already knew the ending (spoiler: the ship sinks!) and had heard all the door theories (more on that later).
Told from the perspective of an elderly Rose (Gloria Stuart), the film offers a compelling study of how a singular incident can shape a person’s life for better or worse, and how difficult it can be to let something, or someone, go—even if you’ve only just met. Director and writer James Cameron does a masterful job of juxtaposing the romantic nature of Jack and Rose’s relationship with the horrors of an unwanted romantic engagement, and ultimately, a horrifying disaster at sea.
I love that it showed the kind of privilege afforded to those with wealth, and how because of that, and grand desires for headlines, builders and crew of the RMS Titanic were focused more on appearances than practicality, even in some cases until only moments before the ship was fully submerged. The film as a whole is a great study, too, of the competing character traits and value systems embodied by Caledon Hockley (Billy Zane) and Jack. I loved the dynamic between the actors as they portrayed those men and how Cameron explored their competing value systems in such an effective and unique way.
The interesting thing about Titanic is while no singular performance stood out as individually remarkable, the chemistry between the cast was indelible, with each performer playing so well off one another that it made me feel like I was there, and that these were real people. Of course, Winslet and DiCaprio are great, but because the overall film was so strong, their outputs simply felt par for the course. Of the secondary cast, my favorite performances were by Kathy Bates and Zane as Molly Brown and Hockley, respectively. Victor Garber as Thomas Andrews, the designer of the ship, was also astounding.
Likewise, the writing and editing are both top-notch. There are moments in this movie where the terror and dread were almost too much to bear, and it’s because of how Cameron used particular heart-wrenching moments to elevate the story and make it more personal in a single stroke. One such example that comes to mind is when a mother reads a bedtime story to her children as the ship goes under, knowing their fate had already been sealed.
There are also little things here and there that make the movie feel quite real, in particular the way director Cameron leaned into the actual science of the ship’s sinking to provide sound logic for why certain things occurred, like the ship creating a vacuum as it goes underwater and the frigid temperatures leading to hypothermia for those who failed to board one of the boats.
The technical aspects of Titanic are breathtaking to behold, arguably making this a movie that looks largely like it could have been made in the past few years, rather than simply being labeled a product of its time. Throughout this first experience with the classic, I simply could not stop asking myself, “How did they make this?!” as I watched the ship flood before my eyes and saw the many calamitous situation unfold, like people jumping overboard, the cabins filling with water and massive pieces of iron bend to the will of the ocean.
While the music from composer James Horner is tremendous, I will admit there were a couple times I rolled my eyes at the use of instrumentals for “My Heart Will Go On.” Then again, when this movie was made, that song wasn’t the iconic tune it is today, so maybe it worked better for earlier audiences?
Now, for the door: My take is that while there may have been a way for Jack to get on the door without it capsizing right away (such as him trying to get on from the other side, to give better weight distribution), he made the right choice. There’s no chance the door would have been able to support both of them for an extended period. (Also, it would have been stupid for him to have been able to get on, because Jack needed to die for any of the rest of the film to make sense. Duh.)
Door debate aside, I consider this film to be simply outstanding, a masterful work that has made its way onto my all-time Top 10 list. I think it’s fair to say that it’s one I’ll never let go.
Bottom line: An extraordinarily well-told story, full of intrigue, romance and horror that left me in awe from start to finish. Score: 10/10