Amelia takes the compelling raw materials of its subject's life and does little with them, conventionally ticking off Earhart's accomplishments without exploring the soul of the woman.
Amelia takes the compelling raw materials of its subject's life and does little with them, conventionally ticking off Earhart's accomplishments without exploring the soul of the woman.
Hilary Swank and Richard Gere star in director Mira Nair's biopic tracing the life of famed aviator Amelia Earhart -- who made history in 1932 by becoming the first woman ever to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. The trip made the aviatrix a national celebrity -- with help from her publicist George Putnam (Gere), whom she fell in love with and eventually married. Their union was tested, however, as Earhart developed feelings for contemporary Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor ), and the couple's
marriage faced the ultimate tragedy years later, as Earhart's fierce independent spirit spurred her to attempt to fly around the world -- a venture that infamously shrouded her in mystery, as the pilot simply vanished after crashing into the Pacific Ocean. Christopher Eccleston and co-star in the Avalon Pictures production. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
It has beautiful cinematography, a star performance that is shocking in its authenticity, a careful eye for nuance and detail and an irresistible blend of action and romance that should spell automatic success.
It's all so glancing and superficial that the movie doesn't seem to have a present tense. It goes by like coming attractions. It is, however, a treasury of bad biopic dialogue.
What on the surface looks like a plush period piece with best picture aspirations, is actually a bland biopic of an otherwise interesting figure in Amelia.
Stuart Dryburgh's sweeping panoramas of Canada and Cape Town %u2013 standing in for Nairobi, Papua New Guinea and Hawaii %u2013 deserve to be enjoyed on the big screen.
While Amelia was no airhead, the film flies above the fray, barely skimming the surface of a life and time, including traumatic world wars, the Great Depression and her mystery disappearance.
While Amelia was no airhead, the film flies above the fray, barely skimming the surface of a life and time, including traumatic world wars, the Great Depression and her mystery disappearance.
Amelia provides only a cursory look at Earhart's commercialization, more a way to delineate her marriage troubles than investigate her self-image or her treatment as a pop star.
When it takes to the skies Amelia really soars with thrilling recreations of Earhart's solo flights but when it returns to earth all that remains is soap opera.
A boring and utterly pedestrian chunk of Oscar bait, "Amelia" is the film equivalent of reading a wikipedia page; you get the gist of the story but it's not particularly memorable and just doesn't do it's subject justice. Lazy writing and generic direction (Mira Nair - "Monsoon Wedding") plague the film, as does the
shockingly poor lead performance from the incredibly inconsistent Swank. At two hours, the film started to drag and take it's toll on me, adding to an already unpleasant home video experience. Skip this film and just turn to Scorsese's 2004 near masterpiece to get your aviation fix and to see just what a Biopic can be!
Hilary Swank delivers a good performance as the legendary American aviatrix, Amelia Earhart, who boldly flew into the annals of history.The film is not just about one person, but about a person's dreams, desires and ambition. Ameila lectured and spoke out for women's rights, advocated for them to follow their dreams of
either became a pilot like her, or just living their life the way they wanted to. The airplanes and the overall look of the 1930s are wonderful in here, often capturing my attention more than the dialog.
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