Copyright 2012 by Lovestorycritic1.
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Introduction
Titanic is an example of good old-fashioned Hollywood filmmaking. It has all the glamour, drama, and epicness of human drama at the highest, most entertaining level. Watching the ship sink is like watching a horrible car crash: you know it’s terrible and you shouldn’t be watching but you can’t look away. Of course, the best part of the film isn’t the ship’s sinking, but the beautiful love story of star-crossed lovers Jack and Rose. This is more Rose’s story. This is the story of how one man’s devoted love saves Rose, in her words, “in every way a person can be saved.”
Kate Winslet plays Rose de Witt Bukater, a formerly rich girl whose mother forces her to marry Cal Hockley (Billy Zane), a Philadelphia steel tycoon, in order to remain in upper class society.
Yet, she is oppressed by upper class society, restricted by its rules and destined to live her life as an inferior woman. One example of this oppression occurs very early in the film, when her arrogant and haughty fiancé orders dinner for himself and for her. “We’ll both have the lamb, rare, with very little mint sauce.”
She yearns to break free, be adventurous and explore the world, a quality considered unladylike in that day and age.
Enter free-spirited artist, Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), who hops all over the world whenever he wants, making his living by drawing portraits. She even tells him that she envies his lifestyle and they discuss all the fun things they could do, such as “riding the roller coaster in San Diego until they throw up.”
No wonder she falls in love with Jack. She sees herself in him. His free-spirited personality is a reflection of what she wants for herself. He brings out the adventurous free spirit in her. This is important because a lot of love stories don’t explain why the two main characters love each other. Too often, love stories don’t do this well enough.
To me, that’s not good enough. I need to know what two people see in each other, in order to truly appreciate the depth of the love story. I need a deep examination of their backgrounds, and how they complement each other in the present day. In order to evoke genuine emotion from the viewer, it is important for us to know the characters as if they were our friends, so that we care about their fates. We must be able to relate to them and then care about them, as if they were our real life friends. That’s what successful stories do.
Titanic does this well.
Jack loves her passion and zeal for life and Rose loves what Jack represents: liberation from the oppressive upper class.
We can relate. Who has never wanted to break free before? Who has never felt trapped? We can put ourselves in their shoes. That’s why we care about them.
As the film continues, we see more and more of Rose’s mundane world: endless dinners and balls and the same old snooty people. After the dinner scene, Jack initiates Rose into his world, taking her to an Irish party in third class, where she breaks out of her shell, and is free to be herself when she spits, drinks and dances. We are given a brief taste of their happiness, which culminates in their lovemaking in a coach. Of course, we know this is a disaster film, so the iceberg has to strike sometime.
When it does, we feel deeply for the characters and their ill-fated romance, because they are like our friends now. We worry about them and wonder if they will survive the sinking of the ship. And when Jack died bobbing around in the frigid North Atlantic Ocean, yes, I cried. Again, if I’m not in tears by the end of the movie, then it’s not a good love story.
Is Titanic a perfect movie? No, it has its flaws. Some people complain that the dialogue is stilted, and it is sometimes. For example, the scene where she thanks him for having talked her out of suicide and they are walking around on the deck together. And some say that the two leads address each other by name a lot: “Jack!” “Rose!” “Jack!” “Rose!” “Jack!” “Rose!”
I tend to agree. But these are very minor flaws. The important thing is that the story be good, and I believe it is. The 14 Oscar nominations and 11 statues it received during the Academy Awards confirm my opinion. You can have clumsy storytelling and writing, but if the story as a whole sucks, then the entire film/book sucks. But if the story as a whole is good, even if the storytelling is rather clumsy at times, it’s still going to be a good film/book.
Favorites Scenes
My favorite scene is the beautiful scene where Rose changes her mind about being with Jack. It’s the “I’m flying” scene.
Jack is standing at the bow of the ship, deep in thought, the wind blowing in his hair, when all of a sudden Rose appears and says, “Hello, Jack. I’ve changed my mind.”
The beautiful music starts to play, and he looks at her and before she could speak again, he silences her and motions for her to stand at the bow of the ship.
She does and he says, “Close your eyes. Step up onto the railing. Now open your eyes.”
Her arms outstretched, she exclaims, “I’m flying, Jack. I’m flying.”
They share an intimate moment with the pinkish-red of the sunset as a backdrop and the music still playing.
There, they kiss for the first time.
But then, the story flashes back to the present, where a very old Rose Dawson is telling it. The scene shows the bow of the ship, now long decayed and rusted as it sits in its watery grave. Director James Cameron is a genius here. The very definition of a film is a story told in pictures, in a dramatic context. Cameron manages to evoke so many emotions with this one simple picture. The rusting bow of the ships does two things at once: it is the location where Rose and Jack meets and falls in love, and its rusting is sad, because we know Jack didn’t make it. Secondly, it states that although the Jack is now dead, her memories of him and what he did for her will live on forever in her heart. The eternal love that she has for him in her heart is further supported by the theme song My Heart Will Go On, sung by my favorite singer, Celine Dion.
What is the significance of this scene?
This scene marks a turning point in the story: Rose has chosen Jack and will continue to do so for the rest of the film. More importantly though, this scene shows why she has chosen Jack. By stretching her arms out at the bow of the ship, the wind rushes under her arms and she experiences a flying sensation, much like a bird free to fly wherever its wants. This is the freedom that she desperately yearns for. Because he was able to give her what she wants most, she fell in love with him and decides to be with him. He frees her from the chains of upper societal oppression.
It’s a beautiful scene that does so much using so little: a minimal number of words, and only one picture and the right music.
Soundtrack/Music
James Horner, the musician who scored the film, certainly deserved much kudos for his work. It was no surprise that he won an Oscar for it. The soft, instrumental music really sets the mood, making us feel happy during the dancing at the Irish party in 3rd class, and making us feel sad when Jack’s frozen body sinks to the bottom of the ocean.
Sometimes, we underestimate just how important music is to film. The right music can set the mood and enhance the emotions of a scene.
In-depth Analysis of the Story
Titanic is the story of how one man’s love lifts a woman from the chains of oppression and allows her to live the life she has always wanted. In a world of oppression, one person represented freedom and liberation, in stark black-and-white contrast.
Jack Dawson died for Rose. She went on to do all the fun activities they said they would. The best story holds a mirror to the reader. We can imagine ourselves in Rose’s position. Who wouldn’t want someone who loves us so much they would die for us? The audience could relate. This would appeal to everyone, and that’s why it was a big success. Of course, it helped that this type of film is aimed at women, who tend to be more fanatical about the things they like. I’ve heard that people have seen this film over and over again (including me. I’ve seen it six times and counting), and this helped it gross over $1 billion.
Conclusion
Why was this film a success?
This deep love story is the single most touching film I’ve ever seen. It was original (well, as much as possible. Romeo and Juliet has been done before, but Shakespeare stole it from the ancient Greeks), a Greek tragedy on an epic level. The director James Cameron, pitched it to Fox Studios as “Romeo and Juliet on a boat,” but the twist was unique and deep enough to sustain the entire story.
The two leads almost had it all with each other. In each other, they found a once-in-a-lifetime love that was all-consuming, which promises to make them crazy-happy, only to have it slip out of their hands.
The pain of almost is a gut-wrenching feeling designed to draw out even the most cynical and unromantic of us. It made us feel genuine, authentic emotions, especially because we got to know Rose well – her hopes and dreams. This is one reason this film was such a success.
The ending further reinforces why this film was a success. After the lengthy flashback is over, we see the 104 year-old Rose chuck the Heart of the Ocean, the jewelry that Cal gave her, into the ocean, which represents that she values her memory of her love for Jack more than material possessions. We then see that she’s asleep in her bed, and we see pictures of her flying a plane, riding a camel, going to the State Fair, doing all the things that Jack promised her they would do together. Her wishes have been fulfilled. She has managed to live her life her way: free. And it was all thanks to Jack.
The very last scene we see her reuniting with Jack by the clock at the grand staircase of the Titanic. They kiss and everyone applauds.
Is this a dream, or did she die and go to Heaven, where she was finally reunited with the love of her life, Jack? The director deliberately made this ending ambiguous, allowing the viewer to decide. I think that she died and went to heaven and she was finally able to see Jack again.
Again, a good film must be able to relate to its audience in order to be successful. We must like the characters and see them as our friends. More importantly, we must be able to relate.
Wouldn’t we all want someone who would die for us so that we could live our lives our own ways? Sure, that might not happen a lot in real life and it might be a bit of a fantasy, but it’s a fantasy done well, and that’s why people escape to the movies.
For this reason, Titanic is worth seeing over and over again.
- Lovestorycritic1
Rating (A must-see, A Classic!)
10/10
Before you think I’m being too generous, please know that this is the only film I’ve ever given a perfect 10 from here on out. I’m being fair. Titanic deserves a perfect 10. Very few other films do. In fact, it all goes downhill from here. I’m a tough critic but I am also very fair.
1. What did you think of the story?
2. What would you rate it out of 10?
3. Why did you like it or why didn’t you?
4. What is your favorite scene?
5. Why do you think this film did so well at both the box office and the Academy Awards? It’s very rare that a work of art has both critical and commercial success. This one had both.
6. What do you think the lovers saw in each other?
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