Review of Amelia (2009) by Martin M — 11 Jul 2010

I really enjoyed this film, as I think it accurately captured the exploits of legendary flier Amelia Earhart and gave a good glimpse into her life and times, and the motivations which propelled her to do what she did, back in a time when women were supposed to sit at home, raise kids, cook and clean.

It is beautifully photographed, and the period detail is amazing. Hilary Swank, one of my favourite actresses, portrays Earhart to a "T," capturing her high class Katherine Hepburn-like accent perfectly. It is an outstanding performance.

An interesting sequence to watch for involves Amelia's first attempt at a round the world flight, when her overly-laden plane crashes on the runway of a Hawaiian airport. For some strange reason the filmmakers decided that Niagara District Airport would make a good stand-in, even though parts of this movie were clearly filmed in the tropics. If you watch carefully, in the background you will see the Skyway Bridge!

I think the only downfall of the movie is that it tried to make more of the romance between herself and her older, rich husband, publisher George Putnam, than probably existed in real life, but we will never know that, and her exact relationship with that man, and what ultimately became of herself, her navigator, and the Lockheed Electra she was trying to fly around the world, will forever remain hidden in the mists of time.