Amelia (film)
Amelia is a 2009 biographical film about the aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. The film stars Hilary Swank as Earhart, and co-stars Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston and Joe Anderson. The film was directed by Mira Nair and based on The Sound of Wings by Mary S. Lovell.[2] The film received predominantly negative reviews, with critics polarized over the performances and criticizing the film's story. It was also a box-office bomb, grossing $19.6 million against a budget of $40 million.
Not to be confused with the 2001 French romantic comedy film Amélie or the 2001 Brazilian film Amélia.Amelia
East to the Dawn
by Susan Butler
The Sound of Wings
by Mary S. Lovell
Ted Waitt
Kevin Hyman
Lydia Dean Pilcher
Allyson C. Johnson
Lee Percy
- October 23, 2009
111 minutes
United States
Canada
English
$40 million
$19.6 million[1]
Plot[edit]
On June 1, 1937, aviator Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan, start their attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Moving in vignettes from her early years when Earhart was captivated by an aircraft flying overhead on the Kansas prairie where she grew up, her life over the preceding decade gradually unfolds via flashbacks. In 1928, Earhart is recruited by charismatic publishing tycoon and adoring business partner George Putnam to become the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean, albeit as a passenger. Taking command of the flight results in success and she is thrust into the limelight as the most famous woman pilot of her time. Putnam helps Earhart write a book chronicling the flight, much like his earlier triumph with Charles Lindbergh's We. Earhart and Putnam eventually marry, although she enacts a "cruel" pledge as her wedding contract.
Embarrassed that her fame was not earned, Earhart commences to set myriad aviation records, and in 1932, recreates her earlier transatlantic flight, becoming the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic. Throughout the next five years, Earhart falls into an awkward passionate affair with Gene Vidal. In a display of romantic jealousy, Putnam quietly tells Amelia that he does not want Vidal in his house. Annoyed by the seemingly endless agenda of celebrity appearances and endorsements, Putnam reminds her it funds her flying.
Earhart returns to her husband as she prepares for her most momentous flight to date, to fly around the world, in a Lockheed Model 10 Electra, sponsored by Purdue University, with the help of navigator Fred Noonan. Vidal notes the biggest obstacle will be to locate tiny Howland Island. Earhart's first attempt ends in a runway crash in Hawaii, due to a collapsed landing gear, and her aircraft requires extensive repairs before the flight can be attempted again. Eventually, she takes the repaired Electra in a reverse direction, leaving the lengthy trans-Pacific crossing for the end.
On July 2, 1937, Earhart and Noonan set out to Howland. A rising crisis unfolds between the plane and the Coast Guard picket ship Itasca; the Coast Guard radio operators have a direction finder with a dead battery, and weak radio communications prevent Earhart and Itasca from making contact. Running low on fuel, Earhart and Noonan fly on and vanish. A massive search is unsuccessful, but solidifies Earhart as an aviation icon.
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
Amelia received negative reviews from film critics, holding a 19% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 161 reviews, along with an average score of 4.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Amelia takes the compelling raw materials of its subject's life and does little with them, conventionally ticking off Earhart's accomplishments without exploring the soul of the woman."[16] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns rating of 100 reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film a score of 37 based on 34 reviews.[17]
In pre-release publicity, Hilary Swank had been touted as a candidate for a third Oscar,[18][19] but later that prospect was viewed as distant.[4] Echoing the majority view, Martin Morrow's review on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation website was very critical of the film, labeling it "a dud," declaring: "Hilary Swank may look the spitting image of Earhart in those vintage newsreels, but her performance is more insipid than inspiring. Mira Nair directs as if she were piloting an overloaded plane on an endless runway – the film lumbers along interminably, never achieving takeoff ... As the film limps to a close, Amelia has accomplished a feat we didn't think possible: it has made us indifferent to this real-life heroine's tragic fate."[20] Most critics decried the inconsistencies and lack of focus in the film; Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote: "The actors don't make a persuasive fit, despite all their long stares and infernal smiling. ...the movie is a more effective testament to the triumphs of American dentistry than to Earhart or aviation."[21] Ric Gillespie, author of Finding Amelia, wrote: "Swank, under Nair's direction, accomplishes the amazing feat of making one of the most complex, passionate, ferociously ambitious, and successful women of the 20th century seem shallow, weepy, and rather dull."[10] In 2010, Alex von Tunzelmann of The Guardian gave the film a grade of D.[22] Mary Pols called the film "disappointing."[23] David Edelstein felt the film "never breathes".[24] Another review said the film "seem intent on portraying Earhart in a way that rings hollow and, indeed, isn't quite accurate."[25] Anne Thompson lamented the change of screenplay, stating that "Hilary Swank can kiss her hopes of a third Oscar good-bye. She never found the real Amelia Earhart behind the bland feminist flier hero. She never nailed it. Finally, while the final sequence ramps up the energy, the movie doesn’t come to life, or ring true."[14] Angie Errigo of Empire gave the film three out of five stars, stating "Swank's moving performance, the period dressing and beautiful planes all appeal, but dramatically it doesn't really soar."[26]
A small number of positive reviews included Ray Bennett of The Hollywood Reporter who characterized the film as an "instant bio classic," stressing the production values in which "director Nair and star Swank make her quest not only understandable but truly impressive."[27] Matthew Sorrento of Film Threat gave the film 4 stars, and wrote: "Director Mira Nair trusts her old school filmmaking style enough to inspire a fresh take on a legend."[28] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a positive review and gave it 3 stars out of 4, and called it "a perfectly sound biopic, well directed and acted".[29] Carrie Rickey of The Philadelphia Inquirer awarded the film 3 stars, praising Swank's performance in her review stating that: "like Maggie in Million Dollar Baby, [Swank] is unwavering in her gaze, ambition, and drive," and "in Nair's evocatively art-directed (and sensationally costumed) film, Earhart comes alive."[30]
Home media release[edit]
On February 2, 2010, Fox Home Entertainment released Amelia in DVD and Blu-ray versions. Extras on the DVD include deleted scenes and "The Power of Amelia Earhart", "Making Amelia" and "Movietone News" featurettes. The Blu-ray release also has two additional featurettes: "The Plane Behind the Legend" and "Re-constructing the Planes of Amelia" along with a digital copy of the film.[31]