I have a feeling that 2009's "Amelia" plays better on DVD than it did in the theater. There's something about paying $10 for a movie that falls short that can really sour a person on it.
Hillary Swank obviously thought this would be a great role for her, so she is a producer of this film. She was right -- she and Earhart share a similar androgynous quality, and Swank worked on getting her resemblance to the aviator as close as possible. As her partner-promoter-husband, George Putnam, Richard Gere is wonderful. And he's not an actor I usually like.
The film purports to tell the life story of Amelia Earhart, but like "The Elizabeth Taylor Story" from some years ago, just as an example, it seems to be a series of headlines. She meets George Putnam (Richard Gere) and a couple of scenes later, he says he hasn't had much time to be alone with her. We don't see the relationship develop.
If you don't know a lot about Amelia Earhart, the film is interesting. I had no idea that she did so many product endorsements in order to finance her flying - she had her own clothing line and luggage line besides all the products she advertised. Her personal life is interesting, too: she was rumored to have a romance with Gene Vidal, Gore Vidal's father, and also with Paul Mantz, another pilot. Mantz isn't part of this film, but he is a character in two other films about Earhart.
Swank talks like Katharine Hepburn, which I assume is the way Earhart talked, not unusual for those days. The film has an occasional narration by Swank, quotes from her diaries about her flying.
"Amelia" is a pretty film about an early feminist and a true adventurer. Unfortunately we don't get enough of her essence in this film.
Hillary Swank obviously thought this would be a great role for her, so she is a producer of this film. She was right -- she and Earhart share a similar androgynous quality, and Swank worked on getting her resemblance to the aviator as close as possible. As her partner-promoter-husband, George Putnam, Richard Gere is wonderful. And he's not an actor I usually like.
The film purports to tell the life story of Amelia Earhart, but like "The Elizabeth Taylor Story" from some years ago, just as an example, it seems to be a series of headlines. She meets George Putnam (Richard Gere) and a couple of scenes later, he says he hasn't had much time to be alone with her. We don't see the relationship develop.
If you don't know a lot about Amelia Earhart, the film is interesting. I had no idea that she did so many product endorsements in order to finance her flying - she had her own clothing line and luggage line besides all the products she advertised. Her personal life is interesting, too: she was rumored to have a romance with Gene Vidal, Gore Vidal's father, and also with Paul Mantz, another pilot. Mantz isn't part of this film, but he is a character in two other films about Earhart.
Swank talks like Katharine Hepburn, which I assume is the way Earhart talked, not unusual for those days. The film has an occasional narration by Swank, quotes from her diaries about her flying.
"Amelia" is a pretty film about an early feminist and a true adventurer. Unfortunately we don't get enough of her essence in this film.