Amelia

Plot synopsis:
On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank) and her navigator, Fred Noonan (Christopher Eccleston), are on the last leg of an around-the-world flight. Moving in vignettes from her early years when Earhart was captivated by the sight of an aircraft flying overhead on the Kansas prairie where she grew up, her life over the preceding decade gradually unfolds. As a young woman, she is recruited by publishing tycoon and eventual husband, George Putnam (Richard Gere) to become the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean, albeit as a passenger. Taking command of the flight results in a 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 gradually falls in love with Putnam and they 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 a decade of notoriety, Earhart falls into an awkward love affair with pilot and future Federal Aviation administrator Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). In a display of romantic jealousy, Putnam quietly tells Amelia that he does not want Vidal in his house. Earhart is annoyed by the seemingly endless agenda of celebrity appearances and endorsements but Putnam reminds his wife that it funds her flying. Earhart returns to her husband on the eve of her last momentous flight. Earhart's last flight was her biggest and most dangerous adventure to date. Her plan was to fly around the world. 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 Lockheed Model 10 Electra, sponsored by Purdue University, in a reverse direction, leaving the lengthy trans-Pacific crossing at the end of her flight.
Setting out to refuel at tiny Howland Island, radio transmissions between USCGC Itasca, a Coast Guard picket ship, and Earhart's aircraft reveal a rising crisis; Earhart cannot hear Itasca's transmissions, although they can hear hers. The Coast Guard radio operators realize that they do not have sufficient length to provide a "fix". Itasca has a directional finder with a dead battery, and weak radio communications prevent Earhart and USCGC Itasca from making contact. Running low on fuel, Earhart and Noonan continue to fly on, as the screen cuts to black. Title cards reveal that Earhart and Noonan disappeared. A massive search effort is unsuccessful, but solidifies Earhart as an aviation icon.

Tags: romantic, depressing, flashback

Review:
Occasionally a movie comes along from Hollywood that sweeps you away with the breadth and scope of its sheer awfulness.True story - a hank of hair at the International Women's Air and Space Museum in Cleveland thought to be Amelia Earhart's was recently discovered to be, in fact, just thread.
the British Christopher Eccleston produced an extraordinary American accent playing Fred Noonan and Ewan McGregors role was comfortable enough.the flying element of the film has received a lot of criticism, by those who understand aviation and by those (me included) who know nothing of aviation.
Some of the facts may have been changed around but not the basics, again I say this is a movie for entertainment and not a documentary and thank god I didn't get dished something like Nights at Rodanthe which I was served the last time I watched Gere with a mature woman.Hilary Swank is beyond criticism in this role, she clearly researched her character and acted with great integrity and pride.
Amelia Earheart clearly flew at a time of aviation transformation and full credit to her for what she did in her life, whether she was foolhardy or not, she died doing something she loved.Sometimes we can know too much and it spoils our instinctive enjoyment of something; don't let that happen with this film.
Hilary Swank Owns It. Given the source material and the fact that Mira Nair has occupied the director's seat, I had been expecting great things from this movie.
If you are interested in the world's most famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart then I think you will enjoy what was accomplished with this film.
What Leonardo DiCaprio does for "Howard Hughes" in the Aviator, Swank does for Earhart in "Amelia."If it were a movie by men about a man, would critics have treated this film more fairly?
I don't think I've ever seen a more tepid, boring affair portrayed as that between Earhart and Gene Vidal, but they included that rather than showing any of Amelia's self-doubts or conflicts with her flight instructors, or any of the theories as to why they missed Howland.There's so much to her story and they picked the least interesting bits.The Diane Keaton TV Movie, Amelia Earhard: The Final Flight, did a much better job of getting into Amelia's head and showing more of her self-doubts, and the whole aspect of being a women pilot in the 1930's.
For starters there is the ever impressive Hilary Swank - she physically embodies her protagonist to a tee, complete with awkward beauty and undeniable charisma – and In support Richard Gere is solid as George Putnam - business man and Amelia's husband – who is dedicated, faithful and loyal to his wife, something that almost makes him more likable than the star herself.
Told from the point of view of the around the world flight, with flashbacks to Amelia's earlier memories and struggles flying and promoting herself as a Pilot.She Started the 99's I have friends who are in the 99's still.A lot of important early aviation history was woven into the film.
But after seeing Amelia, I'm thinking did we see the same movie, sure this was not an all good biography film, but it was great by it's own standards.I liked Hilary Swanks performance as Amelia Earhart,she portrays her as the kinda person she was, there is no creativeness to it.
Richard Gere is also good as George Putman, Amelias husband.It was beautifully well filmed, and it also had awesome flying scenes, at times suspenseful.
Amelia starring Hilary Swank should should provide some interest for anyone wanting to see a film depiction of Ms. Earhart's accomplishments.
It tells the true story of Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank) and her relationships with her eventual husband, publisher George Putnam (Richard Gere), and aviation teacher Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor) whose son Gore (William Cuddy)-an eventual author-is just a young boy here who takes a shine to Ms. Earhart.
Many flight sequences are quite breathtaking and there are some subtly compelling scenes of dramatic conflict concerning Earhart, Putnam, and Vidal though since they don't boil over in the account one probably won't get completely riveted by the results though I seemed to like the way things were depicted just fine.
I found it to be a surprisingly accurate, though necessarily condensed, account of her career in aviation, including most of her record setting accomplishments, and thanks to Hilary Swank's and Richard Gere's true-to-life portrayals of Miss Earhardt and G.P. Putnam, a vibrant and very exciting movie.
"Amelia" is beautifully set and features as you would expect some excellent aerial photography but falls down somewhat in the dramatic stakes.Hilary Swank bears a strong physical resemblance to the title character, but for me doesn't quite convey the passion and drive which inspired Earhart's exploits.
Yes, Hughes' eventful life gave Scorcese more to work with,but his film really grabbed you by the scruff of the neck and kept you on the edge of your seat, whereas this movie felt more like something you'd watch on the National Geographic channel.All that said, immediately after watching the film, I was inspired to read up on the aviator's life, but maybe that too is a sign that the movie hadn't quite done its job in encapsulating the life and times of its remarkable subject.My summary quote, by the way, is from Joni Mitchell's great song "Amelia" on her "Hejira" album..
When I was a kid, I had the fortune of growing up in a house full of books, and through my childhood, I obsessively read and re-read various of them.Among them, there were The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Robin Hood...and a biography about Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), whose author I have unfortunately forgotten his/her name (searching in Amazon, I found too many books with the simple title "Amelia Earhart", and I do not recognize their modern covers).What I do remember is that it was written for juvenile readers, more interested in the aviation feats from that legendary woman, and not so much in her important role as a proto-feminist, celebrity and promoter of the commercial aviation.Now, the film Amelia leaves Earhart's life as an aviator in the background, focusing on her turbulent life, the positive and negative elements from her fame and the romantic triangle she kept with two men who may loved her on different levels.But even with that wide narrative angle, co-screenwriters Ronald Bass and Anna Hamilon Phelan could barely rough out the real person behind the legend.Director Mira Nair has talent for generating potent and honest emotions with her movies (the clearest cases are Salaam Bombay!
and Monsoon Wedding), and because of that, it surprised me that in Amelia, she made such a shy biography of a woman who was famous for her passion and intensity.Maybe, Nair recognized that her force is on the melodrama, and not on the adventure, and her influence imbalanced the movie, minimizing the most significant attributes from the story which is told.Anyway, she offers us various recreations of the flights Earhart made, but they cannot express the difficulty, tension and danger they really represented.There are very nice aerial shots, competent special effects and a good cinematography...but very few sensation of the freedom and joy which impulsed Earhart on her hobby and craft.However, I think Amelia deserves a slight recommendation despite so many fails, mainly because of the brilliant performances from the cast.Hilary Swank does not only physically look like Earhart, but she is also perfect at expressing Earhart's rural charm, and at taking complete possession of her character.This is definitely an outstanding performance caught into a mediocre movie.Richard Gere is very solid as an unconditional support and romantic interest of the aviator.Ewan McGregor and Christopher Eccleston have less screen time, but they still bring memorable performances due to the dramatic weight and credibility they bring to their characters.In summary, Amelia is a mediocre biography, but it kept me moderately interested and it offers great performances, so I think I can give a slight recommendation to it.However, I cannot deny this movie could have been much better..
Review: Before watching Amelia I had my expectations up high about this bio drama starring Hilary Swank a two times academy award winner for her performances in Boys don't cry (1999) and Million Dollar Baby (2004) ,Richard Gere a golden globe award winner and one of my favorite actors ,Ewan McGregor and Christopher Eccleston.Amelia is a bio drama of the life of Amelia Earhart the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, an American aviation pioneer and an author.
The movie follows the life of Earhart as a child falling in love with the sight of aircrafts and deciding to fly ever since, she grows up, marries George Putnam (Gere) a successful publisher who becomes deeply in love with her and helps her unconditionally despite her betrayal all the way to achieving her dreams and ambitions which were all centered around flying until she becomes the most important woman in America and a raw model for all women in the world.Shocked by the wooden performance of Swank who might have been able to look just like Amelia Earhart but never managed to add life to that accent, hair and that well designed costumes, all I kept thinking during this one hundred and eleven minutes movie is how could Earhart be this dull?!
Swank made it impossible for me to believe that the woman I'm watching on screen is an American aviation pioneer and that the shallow scenes that were shot in the movie are the actual events that took place in the life of such inspirational woman.
Beautiful cinematography, a brilliant performance from Hilary Swank who embodies Earhart (looks, voice, mannerisms) a nice blend of action and romance with some fine male leads in Richard Gere & Ewan McGregor.This should have been a great movie but was instead boring, pretentious even, with wasted potential of an interesting and intriguing historical figure and some great actors.
That seems to hit the nail on he head.Amelia is a biopic, taking a look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world.
Earhart led one of the most interesting lives of the 20th century, but one would never know it from this film, as it plays like a damp love story.
Beyond that, we simply see Earhart breaking all distance records for flying, and the story eventually catches up with her final flight.Even this climactic episode, played out in so many previous incarnations, lacks the propulsive conviction to save the movie from itself.
One can't but help that feel that this a movie about romance; the love affair between Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank) and the freedom of flight and flying plus the romantic interludes with her husband, George Putnam (a bespectacled Richard Gere).There is also the motive of a woman, fighting so hard in a man's world, none more so than in aviation - and succeeding.
Predictable and to a certain extent, even though we might not know her actual story, we can guess it, until at which point comes the 'biggy', it's an anti-climax and too late to save the movie.The role of Earhart might not have had the juicy possibilities of Oscar standard acting as Swank's two Academy wins and thus, the persona she projects just doesn't seem to tie in with what we would expect a maverick and pioneer to be - and need to be like to simply get on with their venture.Richard Gere is O.K., in a role that again just seems too obliging and mushy.
Hilary Swank is a fine actress who has done good work since I first saw her a decade ago in "Boys Don't Cry", for which she received a well-deserved Academy Award, and she is rarely off the screen as the eponymous American aviatrix Amelia Earhart in this bio-pic for which she was also an executive producer.
She really looks and sounds like her subject and the evocation of the period (late 1920s and early 1930s) is well-done, while the cinematography - the movie was shot mainly in Canada with some scenes in South Africa - is superb.All the support roles are male: Richard Gere as Earheart's publicist and husband, Ewan McGregor as her colleague and lover, and Christopher Eccleston as her navigator on the ill-fated round-the-world effort in 1937.
The movie flashes back to her meeting with publisher George Putnam (Richard Gere) about being a passenger on a trans-Atlantic flight billed as the first woman to fly the trip.
She brings in new story lines, characters & cultures to her big budget films -- and with Academy Award Winning Hilary Swank as her leading lady -- I had very high hopes for "Amelia."By the end of the movie however, I was shouting, "Just die already!" It was so boring & one-note.
The film cuts back and forth between 1928 when Amelia successfully flew across the Atlantic as the first woman passenger (the pilots are played well by Joe Anderson and Aaron Abrams), dawdles in the time of her success to marry her PR/publisher man George Putnam (Richard Gere), back in the air for more scenes form the 1937 flight, then back on ground as she prepares for and successfully flies across the Atlantic to Ireland.
This seems as though it should be an interesting story for a film, but the writers and director and Swank make Earhart seem like a shy and flat personality despite her fame and the country's need for a hero during the Great Depression.
Hilary Swank would seem to be the perfect choice to play female aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), however the two-time Oscar winner (while a terrific actress) can't do much with this stolid biography of the ace flying legend--it just isn't there in the material or the handling.
About three-fourths of the way into the film, Earhart and her co-pilot, Fred Noonan (Christopher Eccleston), begin their fateful final flight around the globe.To the script's credit I learned a couple of things that I did not previously know.
So much potential in making a new movie about the life of Amelia, this film could have been terrific given the new information about her ill-fated flight and the evolution of computerized effects, but sadly Swank and Company offer us a meandering portrait of a fascinating person that cannot decide if it wishes to be a triangular love story or an historical account of the life of Amelia Earhart.
Amelia Earhart was, of course, the pioneer aviator who became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, and who, in 1937, met a tragic fate when she and her navigator Fred Noonan (Christopher Eccleston) disappeared over the Pacific in a failed attempt to be the first pilot to ever circumnavigate the globe.Swank certainly looks the part of the famed flyer, and she has the voice and mannerisms down pat as well.
For all Swank's efforts at mimicry, Earhart stubbornly remains a cardboard cutout of a woman who refused to allow the society around her to dictate what she, or any woman for that matter, could and could not do, and who lived life to the fullest, even though she wound up paying the ultimate price for it.Even her long-term relationship with and eventual marriage to book publisher George Putnam (Richard Gere) and her brief dalliance with pilot and future Federal Aviation administrator Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor) come across as standard-issue melodrama, executed without flair or passion.The movie is at its most interesting when it's concentrating on the early history of aviation and the part Earhart herself played in it.
she was swallowed by the sky or by the sealike me she had a dream to flyoh Amelia!it was just a false alarm (Joni Mitchell)Hilary Swank was ideally cast as the daring pilot for she is par excellence the actress of the "adventures " movie which may take place in France (the countess De La Motte in a very so-so costume drama or in her native country ("Billion dollars baby"in which she is unforgettable)Amelia's feats as a pilot are well depicted ,although the two male leads are wasted (in Ewan McGregor 's case it's disastrous).And there is another side of her life which is passed over in silence:she was a feminist activist and she fought for the women's rights ;if the screenplay devoted one or two scenes to her commitment,I have missed them.Richard Gere ,in spite of a thankless part,proves he can age gracefully.dreams Amelia,dreams and falsealarms ....(JM).
If Hillary Swank and Richard Gere aren't embarrassed after lending their talents to this cartoonish attempt to depict the life of the real Amelia Earhart, they should be!!!
That and the fact that Hilary Swank looked just like Amelia Earhart are the two things I could say were done well.
Not only does this film beautifully create striking visuals of the Great Depression Era, but Hillary Swank is an amazing choice for the Amelia Earhart role...
Ewan McGregor plays Gene Vidal - ditto.This is all very worthy, and mildly interesting if you don't know Ms Earhart's story (or all the details of it), but I was never invested in the movie because I never really cared about any of the characters.
The film is the story of the famous Aviatrix Amelia Earhart(played by Hillary Swank).
It also briefly touches on how she was the first woman to fly an "auto-gyro" (a sort of helicopter-like vehicle) in 1931 At some length, the movie also covers the way she did finally actually act as PILOT on a SOLO flight across the Atlantic, in a small red {Lockheed Vega 5b} plane on May 20, 1932 {which landed in Northern Ireland}.One of the main recurring themes thruout the film is Amelia's attempt to circumnavigate around the WORLD in a small plane with navigator Fred Noonan.
Amelia is a biographical film of the life of Amelia Earhart,who made history in 1932 by becoming the first woman ever to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.