Amelia (2009)

Director:

Mira Nair

Writers (WGA):

Ronald Bass (written by) and
Anna Hamilton Phelan (written by) ...

Release Date:

23 October 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Defying The Impossible. Living The Dream.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Around The World | Amelia Earhart | 1937 | Pacific Ocean | Pilot

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Hilary Swank	...	Amelia Earhart
Richard Gere	...	George Putnam
Ewan McGregor	...	Gene Vidal
Christopher Eccleston	...	Fred Noonan
Joe Anderson	...	Bill
Cherry Jones	...	Eleanor Roosevelt
Mia Wasikowska	...	Elinor Smith
Aaron Abrams	...	Slim Gordon
Dylan Roberts	...	Leo Bellarts
Scott Yaphe	...	William Dalten
Tom Fairfoot	...	Balfour
Ryann Shane	...	Young Amelia
William Cuddy	...	Gore Vidal
Elizabeth Shepherd	...	Frances Putnam
Richard Donat	...	Gallagher

MPAA:

Rated PG for some sensuality, language, thematic elements and smoking.

Runtime:

USA:111 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #45262) | Singapore:PG | Ireland:PG | Hong Kong:I | Australia:M | UK:PG | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB)

Filming Locations:

Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada

Company:

AE Electra Productions

Trivia:

The movie shows Earhart finishing third in the first Santa Monica-to-Cleveland Women's Air Derby in 1929, but does not explain why. At the last stop before the final leg of the race to Cleveland, Earhart and her friend Ruth Nichols were tied for first. Nichols took off right before Earhart, but her aircraft clipped a tractor on the runway and flipped over. Instead of taking off, Earhart ran to Ruth's plane to drag her to safety. After Earhart was sure that Nichols was not seriously hurt, she took off for Cleveland but finished third largely due to her delayed takeoff.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The third class petty officer who was nodding off saluted the second-class petty officer when he entered the room, and the second-class told him to stand at ease. Enlisted men never salute each other; you only salute officers. And in general, you never salute them indoors.

Quotes:

George Putnam: Come back to me.
Amelia Earhart: Always.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Jay Leno Show: (#1.29)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

You Do Something to Me

A Highlights Reel

I was very disappointed with this movie. It's an honest statement and I am prepared to explain why.

This film had so much on its side. Excellent actors, a fascinating subject, in fact the whole thing reeked of Oscar-Worthy... until it actually showed up in theaters. Perhaps it really did try, and I can tell that it was MEANT to be an awards movie. It couldn't be further from worthy.

"Amelia" is a highlights reel of Amelia Earhart's life, faithfully chronicling all the significant events of the famed aviatrix's career. However, it is hollow and nowhere is this more apparent than in the depiction of Earhart's relationships. Or the lack of it. There's no buildup, no exposition, no sort of character interaction to motivate any kind of bond or love forming between individuals. Things just kind of... HAPPEN. Amelia falls in love, falls out of love, and falls in love all over again, all without any sort of event or prompt to motivate it.

In fact, that's the problem of the entire film. Things just HAPPEN with little or not buildup or motivation in between. Poignant moments come and go with no warning or conclusion, rendering them meaningless and out of context. It seems almost as though the director Mira Nair tried a little too hard in the wrong direction.

This is a biopic, not a biography. Plenty of biographies have been written about Ms. Earhart already, the facts belong there. This is supposed to be a movie, and whereas I have no quarrel with facts, they are not the most important aspects. Movies are supposed to be snapshots, truer to the SPIRIT of a character and the MESSAGE of a story than the events within. Events in and of themselves are hollow and meaningless unless the MOTIVATIONS behind them are explained. In "Amelia", they sadly are not, and we are relegated to seeing the brilliant moments of Amelia's life pass with emotionless detachment. Why? Because this movie makes no effort in building character, assuming that the actors' charisma and the fame of their names would automatically make us invested in their fates.

Ms. Nair, you were mistaken.