I used to watch Titanic multiple times a year. My family would travel and my brother and I would share a hotel room. Of course, we argued over everything including what to watch on TV. Eventually, we’d settle on a movie playing and for whatever reason in the early 00’s Titanic was on TV a lot. So, my brother would stop flipping through channels, watch a bit of Titanic, and fall asleep. I would stay up as long as possible (with commercials this movie was maybe 4 and half hours) to see what happens. I almost never made it to the end of the movie before I passed out.
Since then I’ve loved this movie. I love the scale. I love the romance. I love young Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Everything about this movie is perfect. I mean there’s a reason this movie is tied for most Academy Awards (11).
This movie doesn’t scream “90s” but it could only be made in the 90s. The Titanic wreckage was discovered in 1985 and it created widespread interest in the story. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the newly established Russian Federation loaned the research ship, Akademik Mstislav Keldysh and its submerssibles Mir 1 and Mir 2, to oceanographers. James Cameron and 20th Century Fox would then commission this ship to get footage of the Titanic in 1995. The present day scenes of the movie mostly take place on the Keldysh and real submarine footage was used in the film. This also started a trend of Titanic tourism which would continue into 2023 when one tour group was… lost at sea.
A couple days ago, I had the pleasure of watching this movie with two people, Hillary and Shaun, who had never seen this movie before. And, I have to applaud myself for not speaking during this movie.
Something that I didn’t appreciate about Titanic until my latest watch was the framed narrative. The film begins with Bill Paxton leading salvage expeditions into the Titanic to find a diamond necklace, The Heart of the Ocean. Old Rose (Gloria Stuart) eventually gets in touch him revealing she knows about the diamond and the drawing they found in the wreckage. The romance and disaster of the film is a story Rose tells Paxton's character and the audience. This device accomplishes so much in the film. The salvage team explains the mechanics of the sinking ship, which we later see recreated in the film. Rose's narration also describes real life passangers like Molly Brown (Kathy Bates), Thomas Andrews (Victor Garber), or J. Ismay (Jonathan Hyde). When Rose finishes her story, we see the salvage team is genuinely moved by what she said to the point they give up the hunt for the Heart of the Ocean.
It’s actually a long time until we even get to the disaster and that’s the beauty of the film. The Titanic doesn’t hit the iceberg until an hour and forty minutes. All that time before is spent introducing us to star crossed lovers Jack and Rose. And it's awesome. We see Jack save Rose’s life. Not only that, he gives her a reason to live. They have a whirlwind romance. Kathy Bates shows up. Rose and Jack skip out on a stuffy dinner party for an impromptu Irish jig in the lower decks. Rose gets a taste of what her life could be and we, Hillary, Shaun, and I, got to forget that this is a tragedy. Unfortunately, the second half becomes the greatest disaster movie ever made.
The iceberg scene is incredibly tense. The crew members spot the iceberg and the alarm is taken through the chain of command. The crew attempt to slow the ship, but it’s too late and the ship painfully scrapes the iceberg. Immediately the situation is severe. A few of the firemen or stokers, feeding the engines with coal, are trapped in the engine room when the doors shut. The ship’s architect (Victor Garber) and Captain (Bernard Hill) assess the damage and urgently begin evacuation despite the ship’s owner insisting it can’t sink.
Although the main characters are Rose and Jack, the film is almost an ensemble. Every side character has motivations and reappears throughout the long runtime. There’s Jack’s friend Fabrizio who just wants to immigrate to America. There’s also Irishman Tommy who tries to get on a lifeboat before being shot. Members of the crew all face the same challenge of keeping order and saving as many people as possible. Billy Zane and his enforcer try to bribe one who angrily throws the cash in his face. The string quartet refuses to leave the ship and stays playing until the end. One heartbreaking scene, I found on this rewatch, was the immigrant father who couldn’t read the English signs in the lower decks and struggled to find an exit.
Every shot in this movie is breathtaking and there’s so many set pieces. Jack and Rose have to navigate flooded hallways. The brightly lit ship is contrasted against the dark ocean around them. The grand staircase is lit up perfectly, later it’s half submerged then fully submerged in the present. The engine room is massive. The captain takes the helm and watches as the water rises around him. Lifeboats collide mid-descent. All this action takes place with a gorgeous score and the iconic “My Heart Will Go On” repeated as a motif throughout the story.
What is it trying to say? To me it’s about how its never too late to turn it around. Well for the ship yes it was, but really I mean Rose. Rose attempts suicide before Jack talks her off the ledge. Meeting Jack saved her life. Jack is someone who listens to her and cares about her. It’s a stark contrast to her mother and fiancé (Billy Zane). Sure, it’s a little cliche. Jack is also better off knowing Rose. She’s his muse from the moment he laid eyes on her. The last two days they spend together are perfect until it all comes crashing down. Before he dies, he asks her to “never let go” of her life, to survive and keep going. In the present day narrative, we see that Rose fulfilled her promise. She created a life for herself.
It’s been almost 29 years since Titanic was first released and you can still find something new. I quietly sobbed when Andrews told Rose, “I'm sorry that I didn't build you a stronger ship.” I cheered when Rose told Cal to fuck off. And I laughed a bit when Old Rose tells them what happened to Cal. If it’s cliche, it’s because it set the bar. I’m already looking forward to a rewatch in a few years.
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