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Kate Winslet: "Titanic"

 The movie "Titanic" is 25 years old, and the bad parts are just as bad as you may recall. Yes, Rose says, "Put your hands on me, Jack!" And: "Draw me like one of your French girls." And, yes, Rose confronts her fiance and screams: "I'd rather be Jack's whore than YOUR WIFE!!!!"


But, at the same time, how do you resist a movie like this? A young woman (Rose) feels she must follow a certain script to save her family from financial ruin. She is pissed. The only real option she spots is suicide (just fling yourself from a ship). But a guy intervenes. He tells her that the water is brutally cold. ("Have you ever been ice-fishing in Wisconsin?") This young man, Jack, indicates that he will dive in after Rose jumps--so, regardless, Rose is going to have company.

At this point, the movie briefly becomes a rom-com. Rose is drawn to Jack, and can't accept this, so she becomes snide. But Jack gets the girl because he is (apparently) a terrific artist--and, as we've learned, Rose is a revolutionary thinker with one eye on the early efforts of Pablo Picasso.

The story then pivots and becomes a horror film. After we meet the iceberg, All-Knowing Victor Garber quickly grasps that many, many people will die--we see the realization in Garber's eyes--and the entire cast fights (and fights) to be among the lucky survivors.

I tried to talk about this movie at a dinner party the other day, and my associate actually laughed at me. I was hoping to find a fellow fan of the costumes, the Kathy Bates moments, the astounding set. This is a movie that won the Best Picture Oscar, scored four stars from Ebert, and earned the admiration of Lorrie Moore. (Moore admits the writing is bad, and she regrets that James Cameron devoted the first twenty minutes of storytelling to "a minor actress he was having an affair with." But Moore acknowledges the power of Leo DiCaprio, "with the face of Mariel Hemingway," and Moore clearly has warm feelings for Kate Winslet.)

I guess there are people in the world who pretend to dislike "Titanic"--but I'll proudly say, I have trouble looking away. And I cry every time. When I say "every time," I'm referring to at least four viewings.

Happy anniversary to Jack and Rose.
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