Howard Hughes was a mystery and an enigma up until he died in a hotel room in the early seventies. Martin Scorcese manages to shed a bright light on him through his vision of this man and what made him tick. He briefly reveals a glimpse of his early childhood that allows us to perhaps begin to understand Hughes' later drive for perfection and his paralyzing phobias and obsessive-compulsive neuroses.

Leonardo DiCaprio has taken on his most challenging role yet and manages to portray Hughes with great finesse and versatility, thanks to a magnificently written screenplay. He puts everything he has into this role and is very convincing. The scenes in which Hughes suffers a nervous breakdown are a bit lengthy and drawn out, and, perhaps should have been edited. His moments of overwhelming paralysis due to obsessive-compulsive disorder are full of frustrating pathos. His drive and need for perfection in his aircraft designing and, simultaneously, movie production, are astonishing. He comes across as the quintessential mad genius.

The love affair between Hughes and Katherine Hepburn is beautifully portrayed. Kate Blanchett literally transforms herself into Hepburn, an independent, liberated career woman who was painfully in love with him. The scene in which she brings him to meet her family in New England is particularly well done. Blanchett deserves all the accolades and awards she, no doubt, will receive for this role.

The special effect/action scenes in the film are terrific and put the viewer right in the cockpit with Hughes and his daringly experimental aircraft. There is nothing about this movie that is not well crafted and first rate, including the score, period costumes from the forties, and set designs. It is an exceptionally long film that only takes the viewer through his flight and the recognition he received from the "Spruce Goose".

Scorcese and DiCaprio manage to successfully shed a new light on the life of an extremely successful inventor, engineer, and financial entrepreneur that struggled against difficult mental handicaps. It is a well-deserved tribute.