BEATTY EMBODIES HUGHES IN FUN, MESSY LOVE STORY
Larger-than-life shtick sometimes overshadows sweet tale, writes Chris Knight
Warren Beatty seldom takes a back seat in his movies — title roles include Bulworth, Bugsy, Clyde (alongside Bonnie) and McCabe (& Mrs. Miller).
All of which lends an odd dramatic tension to his newest role — and the first in 15 years! — as Howard Hughes.
Hughes is ostensibly a supporting character in the story of an ingenue named Marla (Lily Collins) and a driver named Frank (Alden Ehrenreich), both new to Hollywood circa 1958, and both in the employ of the eccentric millionaire. They meet, chat and fall in love, despite the repressive sexual mores of the time and the fact she’s a Baptist and he’s a Methodist. (And engaged to be married.)
But the larger-than-life Hughes, played by the largerthan-life Beatty (who also co-wrote and directed this story) means the young couple is sometimes shunted to the narrative sidelines, all the more so as the film advances. This isn’t always a bad thing. Beatty is hilarious when channelling Hughes’ mercurial ways, whether sparring with a TWA investor (Oliver Platt), firing a CEO (Martin Sheen), hiring another (Alec Baldwin) or barking orders at one of his toadying subordinates (Matthew Broderick). He’s so wealthy/crazy that when he demands ice cream, his employees don’t know whether to buy the flavour or the company.
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Beatty’s screenplay effortlessly recalls the era — not coincidentally, the same period in which the Baptist-raised star first landed in Hollywood.
But he’s not a slave to fidelity, as evidenced by the film’s opening onscreen words: “Never check an interesting fact — Howard Hughes, 1964.” (Not sure if he even said that. I didn’t check.)
Characters are created, timelines shuffled and Hughes’ mental deterioration seems to come and go.
The result is messy but fun. The messiness ultimately exceeds the fun, with Beatty/Hughes sucking some of the air out of what should be a more romantic denouement. But the cast makes the journey worthwhile.