Wilsonville Spokesman Online

‘Amelia:’ A complex flight plan, but a trip worth taking

• By: Amanda Newman  
• Published: 10/26/2009 5:15:23 PM

Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures
With trousers, a short haircut, a big smile and a can-do attitude, Hilary Swank channels Amelia Earhart in the new biopic, “Amelia.”

In the 1930s, people the world over, dealing with a depression the likes of which they had never seen, looked to Amelia Earhart for inspiration and a distraction from their troubles. Decades later, with the world facing the same straits, her time has come again.
 
This time, Amelia will show her face in the form of Hilary Swank, portraying the aviation pioneer in “Amelia.” The latest depiction of Earhart’s life and mysterious, tragic end is an entertaining film that will encourage a new generation to be fascinated with – if perhaps not admire – Amelia Earhart.
 
It’s an interesting tale, one we all know bits of pieces of. Everyone knows Amelia Earhart was one of the first women pilots. Most know she was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Everyone knows she nearly completed the first aerial circumnavigation of the globe and disappeared in the final lap. No one knows what happened.
 
“Amelia” delves into Earhart’s relationship with her husband/publicist, George P. Putnam (Richard Gere) and her longtime friend and lover, fellow pilot Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). It shows her challenges and triumphs. Most of all, it shows Amelia as a person, faults included. She’s bright, bold and charismatic. She knows what she wants and she won’t take no for an answer. She’s also selfish and inconsiderate.
 
Swank looks the part and sounds the part, and she brings to life the nuances of a truly independent woman who has a hard time recognizing love or its pull on her. It’s sometimes difficult to like Amelia, but it’s a likeable role for Swank. Viewers may want to smack some sense into Amelia when she brushes aside her loving husband for an affair (no matter how appealing McGregor may be), and her pre-marital letter to Putnam, explaining she would not expect either of them to abide by any “medieval code of faithfulness,” is little justification. She’s stupidly reckless – with her life and others’ – and, knowing the ultimate outcome of her life, it’s hard to sit by and watch what happens. That we find ourselves drawn up in the story nevertheless is a credit to the actors – Gere also turn in great performance – and director Mira Nair.
 
The film is excellently crafted so that those loosely versed in Earhart’s history find themselves caught up, wondering which one is the fateful flight, until the final scenes, portrayed effectively and honestly.
 
It’s a great period piece, with authentic costumes and fun character cameos – Eleanor Roosevelt (Cherry Jones) and Mia Wasikowska as another “girl pilot” of the time, Elinor Smith. The cinematography is sweeping and beautiful, especially in the flying scenes. And it’s a timely film, coming in an economic time that parallels the 1930s. “It all seems really silly considering what’s happening out there,” Amelia says, driving past a long line of men, presumably at a soup kitchen. “All these men ... why have I been given so much?”
 
There’s a little too much story packed in this opus: love triangle, world records, a fateful trip, a mysterious end, commercialization, races, historic figures – we’re drawn into one story, and then it’s dropped. But for a taste or an overview of Amelia’s life, this film is first-rate.
 
It’s easy to see why people loved Earhart, with her enigmatic personality and her pioneering, determined spirit. And her message rings true today: “Everyone has oceans to fly, as long as you have the heart to do it.”
 
“Amelia” is rated PG for some sensuality, language thematic elements and smoking. It is 111 minutes in length and opened nationwide Friday.

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