On The Face Of Senator- Aviator | My Take | Under Lens

This is a memorable scene from Martin Scorsese’s work of art based on life of Howard Hughes. On a personal front, I loved this film and might have seen this particular scene, again and again for maybe more than 1000 times in about 100+ reruns of this movie on my system. This scene almost flows in my blood.

Senator Brewster is firing questions and a determined Hughes is replying to each of them. Brewster is spitting venom on behest of Trippe who wants to buy TWA (Hughes’ company) and ruin him. Hughes, on the other hand, is mentally sick and is searching for love. He needs satisfaction and his pursuit is akin to that of Kane in Citizen Kane. He can be easily grounded. However his will power and arrogance are two things that keep him going against all the odds.

The question about ‘Hercules’ comes up. A giant monster which was supposed to rule the air but given the technology in hand and other issues, it has failed to meet the expectations. His honesty, his character and his willpower are challenged. He finally vents it all out. He says nothing can stop him from flying Hercules… it will fly because he has promised so and he is not someone who does not honor his word.

The stage setup is perfect. It gives a quintessential feel of claustrophobia. The camera clicks by press add to the effect. The arguments between two parties appear as if one person is fighting with the system. This was brilliantly emulated by Mani Ratnam in Guru. Acting… when someone like Leonardo Da Caprio is on screen, do I need to say anything?

Director is able to deliver exactly what he might have thought. The scene increases your heartbeats and you sympathize with Hughes.  You can feel the impact. When the scene is over you can feel yourself rejuvenated. Not many scenes in the entire history of cinema can do this to you. Martin Scorsese is God. I mean it.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh