Amelia Directed by: Mira Nair Cast: Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor Running Time: 1 hr 51 mins Rating: PG Release Date: October 23, 2009
PLOT: A look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart (Swank), who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world.
WHO'S IT FOR? Women pilots, and maybe other pilots who have already decided there is nothing more beautiful than flight. Yes, I realize that's a very limited group. Conspiracy theorists need not bother.
EXPECTATIONS: I can't say I'm a fan of Swank, but she continues to impress. Plus, I'm a sucker for getting my history in the form of a bio-pic.
SCORECARD (0-10)
ACTORS: Hilary Swank as Amelia Earhart: The very first second she speaks on screen I got extremely nervous. Somehow she talks with her teeth, not her mouth. Yes, the accent gets a little better, but the performance doesn't. She has to fly. That's it. That's all the motivation we're given. We only get a couple seconds of her childhood, and frankly it seems besides her death, Amelia might have been one of the most boring extraordinary people in America's history. Score: 3
Richard Gere as George Putnam: At his core, Putnam seems to be an insecure businessman. He's desperate for Amelia's love even though she explains what she's looking for. Also, "whisper acting" seems to take center stage with Gere's performance. He'll talk and talk, then to show how passionate, nervous, or excited he is, Gere will whisper his last word. It's terribly distracting. Score: 2
Ewan McGregor as Gene Vidal: "Hello, I'm the charming other man." That might as well have been what McGregor says when he shows up on screen. At least he gets her to admit to why she's always wearing pants. Never mind, that's boring as well. Score: 2
TALKING: This is a time period where a woman can be a passenger on a plane and that can turn her into an icon. It doesn't make sense, and the script doesn't do anything to bring us in to this world. And don't worry, besides the slow pace where not much happens, Amelia reads us poetry in a voiceover as well. Everyone also seems to say the right thing, but they use 30 words to say it instead of ten. Score: 2
SIGHTS: Amelia doesn't put you in the time period. The mock historic footage is put next to authentic footage (I think) but it never feels real. Not only that, Amelia seems completely in over her head when she encounters rain and snow when flying which means her critics were probably right about her lack of experience as a pilot. This is a side note, but when Gene first has a back and forth with Amelia at a party, there is such awful camera work it almost seems both actors are starring at the screen. It's a terrible creative choice that comes off as a mistake. Score: 4
SOUNDS: There is an attempt of a romantic score kicking in every time Amelia takes to the sky. Here's the best thing I can say about the score ... it's forgettable, compared to the rest of the poorly made movie. Score: 5
OVERALL
If you're going to call a film Amelia then it needs to be about her entire life. Will Smith's Ali failed in that regard a few years ago. We only got a small slice, I'm not saying Ali was a bad movie, just a bad title. Here, we get a couple years of Amelia Earheart's life. But we don't really understand what makes her tick besides the fact that she tells us about the freedom of the sky in about 50 different ways. There's an odd showcase of Amelia peaking in popularity and selling just about anything to make a buck, but there's nothing at stake here. Does she feel like a puppet? How much money do you need to fly? There's no bite, no hook, no overcoming obstacles. She wants to fly, and George makes it happen. So instead of anything else, the film seems to focus on the courtship of George and Amelia. The only time there is anything worth paying attention to is the end when we get to see exactly how Amelia's around the world flight ended. For a film about the power and romance of the skies, Amelia seems to stay grounded in complete boredom.
FINAL SCORE: 2/10