On CLIPS In November, 2009
AMELIA

The life of pilot Amelia Earhart is explored in this drama starring Hilary Swank.

TRIVIA: In which 1990s TV series did Hilary Swank play a character named Carly Reynolds?

The legendary Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank) was an adventurer both in the sky and on the ground before she disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 attempting to circumnavigate the globe. Aviation consumed her life, which included a marriage to publisher and publicist George Putnam (Richard Gere) and an affair with aviation pioneer Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor), the father of famed author Gore Vidal. “Amelia” is a straightforward and sometimes interesting biographical epic. Based on the books “East To The Dawn” by Susan Butler and Mary S. Lovell’s “The Sound Of Wings”, Director Mira Nair (“Monsoon Wedding”) unfolds the story at a leisurely pace. Hilary Swank is the main reason to see this movie. She looks like the legend and, for most of the film, sounds like her – a slight change in accent is detected. Richard Gere does his best impersonation of Richard Gere in his portrayal of George Putnam and it works well. Besides Ewan McGregor, the fine supporting cast includes Christopher Eccleston as Fred Noonan, the navigator on the doomed flight. The spectacular cinematography of Stuart Dryburgh and Gabriel Yared’s brilliant score capture the feel of a bygone era. But expectations still fell short. Sadly, “Amelia” never quite rises above the television “Movie Of The Week” level.