Review of film: “AMELIA”

2009, 10-21:

Review of film:  “AMELIA”

Director:

Mira Nair

Writers:

Ronald Bass

Anna Hamilton Phelan

Starring:

Richard Gere

Hilary Swank

Ewan McGregor

Christopher Eccleston

Joe Anderson

Cherry Jones           

Mia Wasikowska

Aaron Abrams

Dylan Roberts

Scott Yaphe

MPAA:

Rated PG for some sensuality, language, thematic elements and smoking.

MY Rating:

Rating:   6.5 of 10 stars  (based on an advance preview of a 111-minute film).

       Flights of FRAUD-acy in the “-Hart” of Amelia’s “Ear-”

I was quite looking forward to seeing this bio-pic about famed Aviatrix Amelia Earhart.  I’m sorry to report that I was considerably DISCONTENTED with what I saw…

…  The film was Executive Produced by HILARY SWANK, who also stars as Amelia…

…  Hilary does fine with the looks & general “demeanor” of the character--  but I wish she would’ve exerted more “influence” re improving what I found to be an amazingly POOR script that helped cause STILTED dialogue, some “wooden” characterizations, a maddeningly “SLOW” beginning, & frequently unbelievable “transitions” (such as her relationship with publisher George Putnam --  played by RICHARD GERE – who suddenly switches from being her business “manager” to a “romantic” interest & eventual husband.  It just didn’t “build” logically to me)…

…  In some ways, the film seems sort of designed to be partly a “DEBUNKING” exercise, & at times concentrates on the sort of agreeably-unfaithful / “FREE-LOVE” attitude Earhart supposedly sported: 

…  When she marries [in 1931], she insists on stating that she “would not hold either [partner] to faithfulness.”  Not long after that, while married to Gere, she gets increasingly “involved” with a character called Gene Vidal (played by EWAN MCGREGOR)…

…  Earhart was born in 1897, & the film pretty much “SKIPS” over her early life.  The movie claims she became intrigued with flying when she saw a plane soaring over her Kansas home, & soon became a pilot herself-- but DOESN’T really deal with how she first took flying lessons in 1921 or how she [on May 15, 1923] became the 16th woman to get a pilot’s license…

…  As the movie says, Charles Lindbergh became famous for his 1st-ever solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927…

…  This film sort of starts its action by having Gere go up to Hilary with a “deal”:  He represented Ann Phipps Guest who wanted to sponsor ANOTHER flight across the ocean [on June 17, 1928], & said she wanted to gain publicity for the stunt by in-effect having a good-looking female as the supposed “LEADER” pilot for the flight--  but Amelia would just be the “FACE” of the venture, which actually would be piloted by a MAN…

…  This movie shows that Amelia would’ve preferred actually PILOTING the Fokker plane, but readily agreed to lend her name to the essentially-MISREPRESENTED venture & also agreed to write a BOOK about the experience-- all to gain MONEY in order to continue funding flying activities…

…  All she did on the flight is keep a “LOG” (meaning, she was little more than a PASSENGER on the trip)--  but although she mildly pointed out she didn’t actually FLY the plane after it arrived safely in Wales, she & others were given a ticker-tape parade in New York for their joint “accomplishment”…

…  When Gere wants her to sign an ENDORSEMENT deal implying that Lucky Strike cigarettes were “used” by her on the flight, altho she mildly protests that she doesn’t even smoke, she readily went ALONG with the deception to gain money for her & Gere…

…  That was also the case on OTHER “endorsements” (such as re luggage) she willingly promoted.  In other words, it was “all about the BENJAMINS”, with the same type of often-misleading claims & ads we’ve seen in decades since then!  I found it all sort of discouraging (even if that’s how things actually “were” at that time)… 

…  As the film rambles on, you see Amelia involved in cross-country RACING flights, & how she (in 1930) founded an organization of female pilots called the “Ninety Nines” [some current members of which were announced as being in the audience at tonite’s screening].  It also briefly touches on how she was the first woman to fly an “auto-gyro” (a sort of helicopter-like vehicle) in 1931…

…  At some length, the movie also covers the way she did finally actually act as pilot on a SOLO flight across the Atlantic, in a small red [Lockheed Vega 5b] plane on May 20, 1932 [which landed in Northern Ireland]…

…  One of the main recurring themes thruout the film is Amelia’s attempt to circumnavigate around the WORLD in a small plane with navigator Fred Noonan. It’s handled with numerous “inserted” FLASH-FORWARDS, which tended to make the story-line somewhat confusing to me (particularly in the midst of various other events being mentioned thruout the movie)…

…  The end of the film finally concentrates on the famous flight, starting with the way the initial attempt from Oakland to Honolulu CRASHED on takeoff (on March 17, 1937).  Then, after the landing gear & motors were repaired, the flight was begun again in Miami [on June 1, 1937, with undetailed flight segments to South America, & previously-shown areas in Africa]…

…  You see difficulties Earhart & Noonan encountered in Asia, how they flew to Lae in Papua New Guinea, & the problems they encountered with the communication & flying equipment in the South Pacific, culminating in the DISAPPEARANCE of the plane & occupants on July 2, 1937…

…  It was strange, the way they used numerous “headlines” to help narrate the story--  & usually had them on screen an INSUFFICIENT length of time, resulting in an inability (for me, a pretty quick reader!) to fully READ them, due to the “rushed” way they were handled!  CARELESS film-making, in my book… 

…  Considering the generally exciting nature of Earhart’s famous “Pioneering” story, while the acting in the film was acceptable, I nonetheless found the “dry” & periodically-dull & recurrently-“lifeless” way the yarn was often handled, to be OFF-PUTTING…

…  In other words, while the movie is OK (& got some very MILD applause at the end), I felt it could have been done far more EFFECTIVELY than it was.    

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