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October 28, 2009

Tough to say who to blame for flatness of ‘Amelia’

Steve W. Schaefer

“Amelia”

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



“Amelia,” a film based on the highpoints of Amelia Earhart’s life, stars Hilary Swank. It is a movie, but could just as likely have been a Lifetime Channel “herstory” special. It might as well have been titled, “The Love Life of Amelia Earhart.” Seems the aviatrix was a high flier in more ways than one.

Hilary Swank was very good …very, very good at playing a very, very wooden character. At least she did a great job playing what appeared to be a wooden character; someone with all the warmth of an overcharged Frigidaire.

Amelia Earhart married George Putnam, the publisher, played by Richard Gere; perhaps the highest paid actor who is given chance after chance despite his inability to deliver a hit film. George Putnam is played by Gere who apparently is a very, very wooden character.

According to the movie, Earhart had a lover, Gene Vidal, a person who seems oily (Ewan McGregor); Gene has a little boy, named Gore. Yes, that Gore Vidal. Young Gore admired Amelia very much. Amelia liked young Gore very much. When Gore got scared, Amelia calmed his fears. Touching? No, I am afraid not. But the oily father's characteristic got passed on to his son.

Writing about this movie makes me realize how terribly unaffected I was by the film. Before then, I thought it was just boring. The only time I was interested was in the last ten minutes. The most effective performances came from the character actors playing Coast Guard men. They made me feel emotion, for the first time during the entire film.

The planes were beautiful, I will say that much. And the producers and writers stayed away from the more melodramatic theories concerning the disappearance of the Earhart plane. It comes off … believable …. and tragic. Thankfully they did not bring up the slightly moldy claim that the Japanese did it.

Let me think what else I can write? How about some of the leading characters in the movie are Hilary Swank’s freckles…and her overly, large teeth…with a guest appearance of the pretty scary set sported by the actress playing Eleanor Roosevelt.

Big teeth, wooden characters, gorgeous planes, vigorous freckles, and a small coterie of talented character actors who actually provide 10 minutes of tension is hardly enough to make a good movie.

I knew the ending; everybody knows the ending, so the performances should carry the film with dramatic and effective impact. Even the folks over at the Lifetime Channel know that. Hilary Swank has the juice to deliver the goods, so I really can’t figure whom to blame; but it certainly wasn’t the Japanese.

Amelia gets two bow ties out of five.

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