It seems these days that we rarely get a release that takes a real life figure and gives them whole biopic treatment. When it happens, it can be a joy or a film that deserves disgust. The worst are the ones that take a life and turn it into a blatant political statement or cause. The best are the ones that just let us enjoy the life of the person whose life we get a somewhat skewed look at. And then there are movies like AMELIA that lean towards the last with just a touch of the first.
Hillary Swank stars as Amelia Earhart, the flying aviatrix whose life captivated a nation when the country was down in the dumps. Earhart’s adventures captured the hearts and minds of not just young boys but of young girls as well. She was a pioneer in more ways than one, not only as a flyer but as a woman who was able to bypass the norms of the time.
The film opens with Earhart about to take off on her last voyage to be the first person to circle the globe. As she prepares to leave, we see a moment between Earhart and her husband, George Putnam (Richard Gere). From here the film moves on to tell her story in flashback, from her early days in Kansas glimpsing her first plane to the story of that last fateful trip.
Much of her tale is passed by taking us straight to that which made her famous, her flying. She approaches publisher Putnam about making the trip across the Atlantic, only done so far by Charles Lindbergh. Chosen from many who applied for the position, Amelia is selected, but not to actually pilot the plane, just to command it. Through sheer determination and taking control of the crew, Amelia does accomplish her goal.
Along the way in her efforts to fly more and advance avionics, Earhart finds time to fall in love with Putnam. Theirs was a romance unlike most in that Earhart, while loving Putnam, doesn’t want to find herself tied to him should their lives take different courses. But fall in love they do and soon wed.
Earhart continues to find more records to break and more standards to challenge. She creates an air race for women. She crosses the country and flies places even many men didn’t go. And she becomes a spokesperson for the field of flying as well as numerous products her name becomes attached to, all in an effort to raise money to allow her to fly.
Earhart also finds herself attracted to another aviation founder, Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). The pair is first attracted at a party where George witnesses their attraction and feels threatened. It progresses through the film until they do become an item. When George refuses to be tossed aside, the affair is ended much to Vidal’s disappointment. But the real love of Amelia’s life according to this film is George.
Towards the last portion of the film, Amelia prepares for her round the world trip. A first failure heading west leads to a rethinking of the trip. Her second attempt sends her east as she crosses the Atlantic once again and continues around the world. The final portion of her trip had her leaving New Guinea and heading towards the small Howland Island. The coast guard ship the Itasca attempts contact with her and does so off and on, but the end result is well known.
This story has an ending that everyone is well aware of, but the film is so well made that you find yourself hoping for, expecting even, a different ending. It is well crafted with images that propel the viewer onto the wings of an airplane to get a glimpse at the world from far above, perhaps the same glimpse that Earhart experienced over similar terrain.
But at the center of the film, apart from the flying aspects and story of celebrity, lies the romance between Earhart and Putnam. What started as a business deal to write a book turned into a respect, admiration and support of a woman and her dream based on love. Is this the reality of their lives? I don’t honestly know. But from this film one would have to believe so.
The performances by the leads are well done. Swank does a fine job, adopting the look, the walk and the subtle lilt of accent that Earhart displayed in countless news reels. Gere does an admirable job in not taking center stage, not upstaging Swank, but supporting her character much as the real Putnam supported Earhart. The two compliment each other well here.
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