Review of Amelia (2009) by Jeff L — 06 Mar 2010

You know when you went to watch 'Titanic' in the movie theater you thought: "well I know what happens..." and you thought why see it? However, when you did see it, you were happy you did (or maybe not) because the story and cinematic experience was good enough to keep you from just waiting for the doomed fate of the massive luxury liner. Well, unfortunately, Amelia is not that movie.

You go into the movie, of course, knowing what is going to happen, however, the hope is always that the story does not just rely on that solely, yet that's exactly what it did. This isn't to say there was no plot, story or fleshed out characters, it is just to say there was really nothing to it. The storyline is bland, boring, and very two dimensional.

Hilary Swank, once again looking like a young boy, plays Amelia Earhart, the infamous female pilot who was coined 'Lady Lindy' after Charles Lindbergh when she became the first female to cross the Atlantic. The movie focuses on Earhart's love of flying and her pursuit of the next big adventure in the skies. The story shows from a young age how Earhart was infatuated with flying and that it was her sole passion.

The movie also focuses on Amelia's private life and her relationship and later marriage to George Putnam, the author who journalizes her adventures and eventually falls in love with her. The relationship is a little rocky due to the fact that Amelia does not want to be tied down, but , at the same time, whether this fact was true or not, the movie really never gives good reasons as to why.

The film, directed by Mira Nair, seems very thrown together until the final act, when what you painfully wait for occurs. This final act is very well done and saves the move from flat out failure. If only the whole movie took the fine craftsmanship of the final act, the whole movie might have been a heavyweight, but as it is presented, it crashes terribly and falls flat.

Hilary Swank portrays Amelia Earhart wonderfully. I can't help but notice that once again Swank has chosen a role in which she looks like a young boy. I guess I am sort of saying that is what Amelia Earhart looks like to me, but, after the movie, looking at pictures of the original, I would have to say that Swank as Earhart looked more like a young boy then Earhart ever did.

Richard Gere was sort of just there in the film, he didn't take away from the scenes but also did not add to them. Same goes for Jude Law, who plays Gene Vidal, a fellow pilot and statesman. However, knowing the past performances of both of these actors, I tend to think that it is more the movie being a dud then the actors.

The one thing the movie did do was peak my interest in the whole Amelia Earhart mystery of her plane never being found after it was reported crashed into the ocean. It is mesmerizing to this reviewer that one of the largest manhunts in U.S. history (womanhunts) never came up with one shred of evidence that her plane crashed. There have been a lot of conspiracy theories into what became of her doomed flight and if it even might have entered the Bermuda Triangle. Who knows?

My interest could have been peaked just as easily from watching a History Channel documentary and I probably would have been more entertained, but this movie, is just flat, boring and drawn out.