Amelia - 1 1/2 smiles

I was hoping that “Amelia” would soar. Unfortunately, it’s too leaden to get off the ground. This totally by-the-numbers bio-pic is bland, lacking any passion and insight. And although star Hilary Swank does resemble Earhart, hers is not an Oscar-worthy performance. The film opens in June 1937, with Earhart already on her way around the world. The bulk of the story is told in flashbacks, but this approach is sometimes awkward and often confusing, adding nothing to Amelia’s story. We meet Amelia before she is famous, when she is selected by publisher George Putnam (Richard Gere), who would later become her husband, to be a passenger on a transatlantic flight piloted by a seasoned veteran. This catapults Amelia into the spotlight and she uses her fame to feed her desire to fly. She becomes an influential role model for girls, befriends Eleanor Roosevelt (Cherry Jones), and has an affair with Gene (father of Gore) Vidal (Ewan McGregor) before reconciling with Putnam and planning her greatest challenge.

According to screenwriters Ron Bass and Anne Hamilton Phelan, the story is reasonably faithful to historical record: she was a spokeswoman for Lucky Strike cigarettes (even though she didn’t smoke). She promoted Amelia Earhart luggage and her own clothing line and frequently made the rounds as a paid speaker. Their Amelia is fearless, an independent spirit driven to fly, a heroic figure devoted to feminist causes. However, the Amelia in the movie tends to come across as reckless, self-centered and obsessed. Swank gives a credible performance although there is no chemistry between her and Gere’s character. And we know how it ends. Interestingly, Amelia’s continuing fame has more to do with the mystery of her disappearance than with her life’s accomplishments, but this movie isn’t into speculation. And that’s probably why “Amelia” just doesn’t take flight. 10/24/09