The Aviator

I saw this movie yesterday. It's a biography, so it doesn't have much in the way of plot. However, it is very well done, and serves as a reverent, but honest portrayal of Howard Hughes. As one of the more controversial figures in recent American History, it's hard to for an objective opinion about him without extensive reading. The movie serves as a brief introduction to his life and his madness which for me is the springboard for a more in depth study of this figure.

Despite his madness, he was able to soar (no pun intended) to magnificent heights in the airplane production world. He nearly died (twice!) test-piloting his own planes. Yet he still test-piloted the plane that everyone said would never fly. He was consistently able to see farther and do more in his field than anyone else. People thought he was crazy for this reason, knowing nothing about his actual psychological problems. But in this area, he was genius.

I have no way of attesting to the accuracy of the film as I have done no other study of Howard Hughes. I can only say that the film paints an interesting picture of the man, and was extremely well executed in every way.