Thursday 3 October 2013

Titanic - Movie Review

Titanic
Review by Shannan Kerruish

Titanic, written by writer and director James Cameron in 1997 is the story of a 101 year old lady named Rose Dewitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) who tells the story herself of her life on a ship called Titanic set in April (14th/15th) 1912 when Rose herself boarded the ship with her upper class mother and fiancé, Ruth Dewitt Bukater,  played by Frances Fisher and Caledon Hockley, played by Billy Zane. Meanwhile; lower class best friends Jack Dawson played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Fabrizio De Rossi, played by Danny Nucci win third-class tickets to also board the ship in a lucky game of poker, Jack opens Roses’ eyes and steals her heart. Throughout the film Rose explains her story from boarding the ship to the destruction of Titanic, April 15th, 1912.

Rose shared the top of the ship with the rest of the other upper class braggarts, all of whom are very similarly stuck in their ways, however as we are introduced to Jack, from the bottom of the ship we begin to see Rose as an independent, free-spirited young woman unlike her highbrow mother whom wishes her to be the traditional obedient daughter like the other high society robots. Jack was intrigued by Rose since the first time they met, when she was feeling very distressed from all the tension of feeling like she doesn’t belong. Jack gradually got to know Rose more and more throughout the journey across the seas, despite the fact that Caledon never warmed to Jack very much. We see a contrast of Rose’s character from before she knew Jack to when she met him, her true colours shone since she met him and her true colours are what Jack fell in love with. The chemistry between Jack and Rose could make anybody fall in love with love and the relationship between them both; however smug villain Caledon adds to the feelings of tension due to losing control of his soon to be wife which results with him making frantic attempts to kill them both. The strong build-up of emotions left me longing for Jack and Rose to live happily ever after. You may think that the irresistible love story only appeals to women and teenage girls, however the film its self includes the actual story of Titanic with special effects of the boat and action scenes, this is what draws in the male attention, James Cameron cleverly combines the two together in order to melt girls’ hearts whilst boys’ hearts race in excitement. The combination of action and love leads to a very dramatic ending which makes the film so immense and memorable.

Jack Dawson, (Leonardo DiCaprio) was a very strong character in Titanic, through just his voice you can feel the passion he feels when in the character of Jack, he controls the tone of his voice dependant on the dialogue he speaks very cleverly, when he feels scared of losing Rose he shouts her name with a gentle break in his voice, conveying a more realistic feeling of devastation, DiCaprio makes the chemistry between Jack and Rose appear almost too realistic that I feel emotionally attached to the love between them which had the biggest impact of leaving me thrown by the end of the film, feeling distraught.

The most memorable aspect to Titanic has to be the soundtrack, My Heart Will Go On by Céline Dion. The track begins with an Irish penny whistle which gently fades in, the song is very slow and soft yet powerful at points, listening deeper to the soundtrack the background sounds almost as if you are underwater which reflects the film itself, especially how the story ends underwater, which then leads into the soundtrack. The soundtrack benefits the film of drawing you in and making you feel as if you are actually there.

From being written in 1997 to 16 years down the line and the film will still never get old. Titanic is a classic and I believe that it is professionally made, particularly with the special effects of the ship. The special effects used help to make the film much more believable and realistic, furthermore do the actors and actresses but notably Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson) who’s acting perfects the emotion in the film, which then links also with the soundtrack by singer, Céline Dion which has the topping on the intended effect and emotion that the audience feel at the end of the film leaving them feeling heartbroken.

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