Review of Amelia (2009) by Jordan P — 05 Feb 2010

So-so biopic that is very pretty to look at, but only gives us the most superficial of looks at its subject. Amelia Earhart was a very complex and unusual person, but the filmmakers were more interested in making this a hagiography than in giving the audience a realistic portrait of the woman. Because Amelia never delves past surface platitudes--Earhart constantly whines about wanting to fly, and doing everything to fly, and "flying that bird as far as it will take me"--we never understand Earhart and she remains inscrutable--and, after a while, insufferable.

The film also succumbs to the worst tendencies of biopics in elevating the already remarkable Earhart to the status of a saint surrounded by boorish thugs, all male. This is especially unforgivable in the case of Fred Noonan, who in real life pioneered cross-Pacific flight navigation and was a skilled professional but, in the film, becomes another alcoholic man who tries to get into Earhart's pants. In the end, during the fatal flight over the south Pacific, Noonan is shown sobbing into his hands in the back of the plane while Earhart stoically mans the controls and tearfully embraces her fate. In fact, the last radio transmission received from Earhart indicated that she was in a panic.

But you can find those historical details elsewhere. The film's biggest problems are the shallow treatment of its subject and the writing, which never fully fleshes out any of the characters. Richard Gere does his best with what he has as Earhart's longsuffering husband, and his performance is perhaps the best of the movie. Virtually everyone else--from Noonan to sometime Earhart lover Gene Vidal--are ciphers.

The film's strongest suit is the sheer beauty of much of it. The flying scenes are spectacular. And the costumes and set design are lavish. But here's a curious problem--everything is so beautiful that, in the end, I believed it less and regarded the film from a greater distance. I've felt this before, specifically on the Jim Caviezel pic Bobby Jones: A Stroke of Genius. Every period vehicle from cars to motorcycles and petrol trucks to the biggest of airplanes is immaculate, polished, shimmering, and shot lovingly as if for a Franklin Mint catalog. It doesn't feel real.

I guess it's obvious that I have very mixed feelings about this film. In the end, I'd say watch it for the aviation--if you're interested in that, as I am--or stay away. Amelia does a disservice to Amelia Earhart by being shallow and, even worse, boring.