Amelia

I was very disappointed with this movie. It's an honest statement and I am prepared to explain why.

This film had so much on its side. Excellent actors, a fascinating subject, in fact the whole thing reeked of Oscar-Worthy... until it actually showed up in theaters. Perhaps it really did try, and I can tell that it was MEANT to be an awards movie. It couldn't be further from worthy.

"Amelia" is a highlights reel of Amelia Earhart's life, faithfully chronicling all the significant events of the famed aviatrix's career. However, it is hollow and nowhere is this more apparent than in the depiction of Earhart's relationships. Or the lack of it. There's no buildup, no exposition, no sort of character interaction to motivate any kind of bond or love forming between individuals. Things just kind of... HAPPEN. Amelia falls in love, falls out of love, and falls in love all over again, all without any sort of event or prompt to motivate it.

In fact, that's the problem of the entire film. Things just HAPPEN with little or not buildup or motivation in between. Poignant moments come and go with no warning or conclusion, rendering them meaningless and out of context. It seems almost as though the director Mira Nair tried a little too hard in the wrong direction.

This is a biopic, not a biography. Plenty of biographies have been written about Ms. Earhart already, the facts belong there. This is supposed to be a movie, and whereas I have no quarrel with facts, they are not the most important aspects. Movies are supposed to be snapshots, truer to the SPIRIT of a character and the MESSAGE of a story than the events within. Events in and of themselves are hollow and meaningless unless the MOTIVATIONS behind them are explained. In "Amelia", they sadly are not, and we are relegated to seeing the brilliant moments of Amelia's life pass with emotionless detachment. Why? Because this movie makes no effort in building character, assuming that the actors' charisma and the fame of their names would automatically make us invested in their fates.

Ms. Nair, you were mistaken.

A delicate strong story.But not a biography. Only homage for a belief, vision and adventure. So, it is difficult to define a film without great ambitions but with good taste.The bricks are not the truth or realistic portrait. Feelings, pieces from gestures and sage wise are gift for the public. And a sun - shine Hilary Swank. A Richard Gere , same lost hero of old years. The fever of fly, the small details and interior fight, the end as mist and flavor of a dream in the skin of reality. It is not a chronicle, testimony or documentary. It is not a masterpiece but may be a beautiful pendant.Must see! For a travel in the teenage corners.

Mira Nair brings to life the story of Amelia Earhart in Amelia. It stars Hilariy Swank, who just might have acted her way into another Oscar nomination and potential win. Alongside her is Richard Gere as George Putnam as her publicist and partner. The story starts with her emergence into the public eye when she tried to become the first woman to fly over the Atlantic Ocean. She does so but not alone, something she would later try to accomplish.

As her popularity grows so does Putnam's interest in his starlet. He wants her to be famous and to be loved. All she wants is to fly. Together they help make strides for female pilots everywhere. In the days leading up to and including the Great Depression, aviation was a primarily male dominated world, but that mattered very little for Amelia.

Along the way she becomes acquainted with Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor), a pilot himself and someone that Amelia becomes very close to. Amelia's free spirited nature and desire to be set free come in the way with her feelings for Putnam, and as well as Vidal.

The film is not just about one person, but about a person's dreams, desires, and ambition. Amelia lectures and speaks out for women's rights, advocating for them to follow their dreams of either becoming a pilot like her, or just living their life the way they want to. She doesn't want to be tethered down or restricted.

Swank gives a solid performance as the flying ace. She both looks the part and acts the part very well. I must say that I did not know an awful lot about Amelia Earhart other than the common knowledge about her, but I feel like Swank embodied pretty much what I would expect Amelia to be. Swank has such confidence on screen and is not afraid to let it all hang out there. Though her performances in Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby are more impressive, this is a finely tuned character she has developed and a very likable one. Gere too gives a great performance. He does a great job of becoming Putnam ever so slightly with his voice. It's the tiniest of inflections but it is effective nonetheless.

Nair does a great job of capturing the beauty of flight and the ability that the world has to take you breath away. I didn't think this was a visually stunning film, but a well constructed biopic that tells a story we want to hear. I was interested in how she would present her final flight around the world and I was pleased with how she broke it up into segments and didn't try to make it recreate things we don't know about like in The Perfect Storm. The mystery is still there.

Parts of the film are a bit dry, clichéd, and repetitive, but overall this was a nice film about someone who shouldn't be forgotten. It's a good story with great characters, fine acting, and is pleasing to watch.

Given the source material and the fact that Mira Nair has occupied the director's seat, I had been expecting great things from this movie. Sadly, 'Amelia' doesn't live up to being close to those expectations. Nair captures the era very well, through the costumes, set design and music. The visuals, especially the sceneries are stunning. However, the story at times feels contrived and at times more like a documented account of Earhart's life rather than a movie. The pacing is quite slow. However, unlike many others, I didn't find it this one to be a snoozefest but that may be because of my previous knowledge of Amelia Earhart and because of a particular performance which I'll come back to a little later on. It's quite disappointing that Nair didn't demonstrate much back story on Amelia, like how did she make it this far in what was then considered a man's world and how she developed her passion for flying. Despite its flaws, the last fifteen to twenty minutes were well-executed. Here, Nair very subtly builds tension and while the viewer knows what it going to happen, they are in suspense as they anticipate Amelia and her passenger's fate. Richard Gere is quite adequate as Putnam. Ewan McGregor is marginally better. But, it is Hilary Swank who steals the show. She is the force that drives this movie with a nuanced performance. I wonder why she didn't receive much recognition for this portrayal. Needless to say, Swank owns the movie.

I found this to be exactly as a few had described: "a fair movie, not great but not bad, either." I'm not surprised it didn't do well at the box office even though I cannot pan the film. I enjoyed it.

Even though I liked it, something was missing: maybe an edge and a few things to get us more involved with the characters. It was hard to warm up to either Earhart (Hilary Swank) or her husband George Putnam (Richard Gere.). Swank and Gere usually play interesting roles so to see them so bland here is a bit of a surprise.

Kudos to Stuart Dryburgh, director of photography, for a very pretty picture. He's done some nice work in the past, such as "The Painted Veil." The airplanes and the overall look of the 1930s is wonderful in here, often capturing my attention more than the dialog.

Overall, it's a pleasant film, a romance more than an adventure. Don't let naysayers discourage you from seeing it, yet on the other hand, don't spend big bucks on it, either.