Amelia

If Amelia does not completely work, it's not for lack of trying. This is a well-made film, with lots of beautiful shots and sequences. The sets and costumes are first rate, and the performances are memorable, especially the lead role from Hilary Swank. Her depiction of legendary female aviator, Amelia Earhart, instantly grabs our attention. She's spirited, lively, and manages to command every scene she's in. It certainly helps that she looks an awful lot like the real person, too. Her performance alone is enough to recommend the film.

But it's a reserved recommendation, due to the fact that the screenplay feels very pat and underdeveloped. In trying to tell the life story of Earhart (which was tragically and mysteriously cut short when she seemingly disappeared without a trace as she attempted to fly around the world), screenwriters Ron Bass (Snow Falling on Cedars) and Anna Hamilton Phelan (Girl, Interrupted) go for a very fragmented and "connect the dots" style of storytelling. We're kept at a constant distance from the characters, many of whom seem to fade in and out of the narrative with little rhyme or purpose. The movie works solely because of what's on the screen, not what's on the page. Were it not for Swank, Earhart would probably come across as being quite boring, as we learn so little about her. Aside from a brief flashback early on where we see Amelia as a child watching a plane fly overhead, and the fact that her father was an alcoholic, we learn nothing about her personally. The film kicks off with her already as an established pilot, and approaching publisher George Putnam (Richard Gere) to fly across the Atlantic, and write a book about it.

Amelia is upset to learn that the flight is more or less a publicity stunt. She won't actually be flying the plane, she'll be a passenger, but will take all the credit, and will then write a book about her experiences. Not long after the successful and historic flight, George begins to act more interested in Amelia personally, and even asks her to marry him. The problem is these scenes seem to come out of nowhere. We have no lead in to the relationship between the two, so it feels forced and artificial when she eventually accepts, like the script is just trying to move things along. Once again, it is the performances that save the day. Gere and Swank manage to salvage the imperfect material they've been given, and create some real chemistry together. You can only wonder what they could have done if their characters and their relationship were actually fleshed out. Amelia gains fame, and becomes even more famous when she actually does fly across the Atlantic solo and without assistance. The movie plows through Amelia's newfound fame, and begins to suggest a rift forming between Amelia and George. She thinks he's only interested in her public image and making money for them. This should have more dramatic weight than it does, but the movie treats it with such a timid manner.

Perhaps the relationship between Amelia and George would have had more weight if director Mira Nair (Vanity Fair) had not removed a crucial character, that of George's first wife, Dorothy Binney. It's been reported that actress Virginia Madsen played the character in earlier versions of the film, but she's been cut completely from the theatrical release, and no mention of her is ever made. What we do get is a potential affair between Amelia and the charming Gene Vidal (Ewen McGregor), a single father who catches Amelia's attention at a party, and their relationship grows, as she bonds with both him and his young son (William Cuddy). Once again, I was frustrated by how shallow the relationship comes across. There are hints that his boy brings out a maternal quality to Amelia that she can't have with George (why they can't have kids themselves, the movie never explains), but other than that, the attraction seems completely physical and hollow. Once again, we find ourselves at a distance, and not caring as much as we should. The love triangle that is supposed to provide the dramatic tension for most of the movie is so muted, it's impossible to truly feel anything.

It's an unfortunate problem that carries throughout Amelia, and makes what could have been an unforgettable epic into an enjoyable, but middle of the road bio-drama. As much as I was enjoying the performances of the lead stars, and the obvious effort that went into the sets, costumes, and special effects, I was never completely involved. It's hard to become involved when the characters are either thinly developed, or completely forgotten about. A good example is a young teenage pilot named Elinor Smith (Mia Wasikowska), who approaches Amelia early on, hoping to learn from her, and maybe surpass her. The scene sets her up to be an important part in the story, but she only appears in two or three other scenes after that, and she never manages to play any real part in the film itself. The movie forgets about her. Oddly enough, the one time we do care about the characters, the movie's almost over. It occurs during a scene late in the film, when Amelia and George are talking to each other over the radio the night before her fateful flight. Watch this scene, and you can definitely feel some emotion both in the performances of Swank and Gere, but also in their dialogue. If stuff like this had come earlier in the movie, I'd be giving it a more enthusiastic recommendation.

Looking back over this review, I've probably made it sound a lot worse than it actually is. Besides the performances, there are some stunning stand-alone scenes, the main standout being a beautiful sequence where Amelia takes First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (Cherry Jones) on a night time flight over Washington D.C. It's scenes like this that make you wish Amelia was a better movie than it is. You can constantly see greatness within its grasp, but it oddly decides to shy away. Still, the way the movie handles the inevitable ending is done very well. It's mysterious and heartfelt. If the movie had spent even more time with the characters, the ending probably would have stood out even more.

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