Movie Reviews

Titanic

"Titanic" is a 1997 historic dramatic romance directed by James Cameron and starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, and Kate Winslett as Rose DeWitt Bukater. This film notoriously lasts 3h15 and takes place on the Titanic cruise ship, going from the United Kingdom to the United States, in 1912. There are also segments which take place in 1995, where the boat was found sunk.
This movie is definitely divided into two parts, almost like two different movies: the romance, and the catastrophe. In the first half, we get to meet many characters, fictional or not, and see the relationship bloom between 17 years old Rose, aristocratic young woman promised to 30 years old Cal Hockley to ensure the fortune of her family, and 20 years old Jack, an orphan without a home who draws for a living. This movie focuses a lot on class differences, mostly through those two characters. Jack travels in third class, with a ticket that he won by playing poker. There, cabins with barely any storage present 4 bunk beds, where sometimes up to three people (mother and her two children for example) sleep together. Their only common area is the lower deck. They have parties where brown beer flows endlessly and they dance freely all together on folkloric songs, with some passengers just improvising the music with the instruments that they brought. The people in third class are never seen eating throughout the film, and they basically always wear the same clothes. Also, a blue / dark filter is used to signify coldness, dampness, and unflattering scarse neon lighting. In comparison, first class's cabins are so big that they look like mini apartments; passengers can bring and display all of their art, clothes, jewellery… They have a lot of common areas, including the upper deck, a hall with marble stairs, a ballroom, smoking cabinets, a church, and a gigantic dining room. Of course, all of these areas are richly decorated and equipped. The first class passengers change outfits many times a day, depending on the activity planned. In the first class areas, there is a more yellowish filter, that signifies warmth and many sources of lighting, including candles.
In the second half, the mood of the movie really changes. While the first part was a buildup, the second is well, literally, a sinking. In the first part most scenes took place inside (with light) or outside during the day, but after, it is nighttime, and both the inside and outside are very dark. During the sinking, which lasts for an hour and a half, everything is a lot more hectic (a lot of handheld shots), though the movie isn't too pushy by giving the audience very rushed moments and some calmer ones. Very good balance there, which doesn't exhaust a viewer who has already followed the birth of Jack and Rose's romance for an hour and a half.
In the end (spoiler), one particular theme stood out for me: Jack and Rose's deaths. Jack dies during an ellipse, which is such a smart way to make it dramatic but not pushy. And Rose, if you consider that she dies in her sleep at the end, also dies unspokenly, which is very interesting. In addition, though they die separated by 84 years, in movie time they die within the same 5 minutes, which I thought was a really beautiful touch.
What is absolutely outstanding in this movie's filmography is the lighting. Every single scene is beautifully lit, while still keeping an authenticity to it. I really just kept and kept on being impressed by the lighting, no matter how dark or dramatic the scene was, the lighting choice and color correction were perfect. The famous "flying at the front of the boat" scene was shot during golden hour, and is the most beautiful golden hour scene I have ever seen. Speaking of that scene, from a storytelling point of view, it was really interesting; it is the perfect opposite of the scene when Jack and Rose meet, as she wants to jump off the rear of the boat. At that moment, they are each on opposite sides of the rail, they do not touch, they look toward the back of the boat; while in the other scene, they are both on the same side of the rail, look towards the future, trust each other and for an instant, are equal. Beautiful.
If there is one thing that I maybe didn't like so much in this movie: the transitions between images of the sunk boats and scenes of the past are too much. Only one would have been enough for me: at the end of the "flying" scene. That transition was a very harsh remembrance of what was to come. The rest seemed a bit superfluous.