Titanic Review – I Won’t Let Go

One of the most classic movies of all time, centred around a tragic shipwreck. A well written movie with great acting brings a tragedy to the big screen in a way that captured the world’s heart.

What Happens in Titanic?

Set 84 years after the sinking of the Titanic, a crew sets out to examine the wreckage of the Titanic. Led by Brock Lovett, the team searches the wreckage for the Heart of the Ocean, a diamond pendant worn by Louis XVI. The team becomes hopeful when they remove a locked safe from the watery grave of the ship. Believing to have the pendant in hand, the team gets interviewed as they remove the door. Upon inspection, the Heart of the Ocean was never found within the safe. Instead, the sketch of a woman wearing the pendant is found instead.

Watching the news broadcasting, an Old Rose sees the picture on the television and realizes that it is a picture of her. She, along with her granddaughter are flown down to the ship that is searching the Titanic. Lovett questions Rose about the picture and the pendant. After a forensic report from Lewis Bodine of the sinking of the Titanic, Rose recounts her story aboard the Titanic.

Who Are The Characters in Titanic?

Rose DeWitt Bukater (as played by Kate Winslet) is a young woman, who is boarding the Titanic as a first class passenger, who comes from a rich family that is losing their fortune. Due to this fact, she is being forced to marry Cal Hockley ( as played by Billy Zane) to maintain her and her mother’s lifestyle. Rose is not a typical first class citizen as she doesn’t enjoy her lifestyle, she is adventurous, has her own opinions and is intelligent.

Rose does not see herself as better than others as she just wants to be herself and feels trapped by what society wants her to be. Jack Dawson ( as played by Leonardo DiCaprio) is a young man who won his way onto the Titanic. He is just looking to go home to America after living in Europe for some time.  Jack is an artist who draws the world as he sees it. Although he does not have a lot of money and is a third-class passenger, he is happy with his life and enjoys being the nomad type who roams as he pleases. The romance between these characters is what connects the audience to the story as we want to see these two get together.

What Makes Titanic So Good?

Titanic is a very easy watch, even if it does run for three and a half hours, and the characters are quite fun. Jack and Rose are a match made in heaven, and I found myself rooting for their relationship. They are both very strong characters with defining characteristics. It is quite entertaining to watch their relationship develop, as they grow as individual characters as well. 

The plot is quite simple to follow, but with a dramatic climax that put me on the edge of my chair. I found that the opening scene allowed the director and the writers to set the stage for the rest of the movie, and a flawless transition, without having the entire film set in 1917. This movie does a fantastic job of showing the events of a tragic sinking, without having the entire movie filled with sadness and despair.

I found that the biggest strength of this movie is the depth of characters. While Rose and Jack are the main characters, there are many other characters that are given plenty of screen time. Whether it’s Cal, Ruth, or Mr. Murdoch, the secondary characters are very well developed, and I felt myself growing attached to certain characters.

The only weakness I found in this movie is the length. I found that the movie runs longer than needed, and seems long winded in many of the early scenes. It is much more difficult to hold an audience’s attention for three and a half hours, and I felt that the writers could have delivered the same quality of a film in a smaller package. Without certain scenes, this movie could have been a 2.5-3 hour film that was both entertaining and attention grabbing for the entire length.

This is a fantastic movie, with emotions running high throughout the movie. It is quite an easy watch, and one that will keep you entertained for almost the entire length. From great characters and an entertaining plot, this movie is very well written and directed with very few flaws. I would absolutely recommend this classic if you have never seen it.