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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

I cringe when Hollywood attempts to make a film about an historical event or person. Sometimes the studios get it right, as in Glory and Sunday Bloody Sunday. Often times they get it wrong, as is the case for Amelia, the biggest disappointment thus far of 2009.

Although Amelia is interspersed with flashes of her 1937 attempt to fly around the world, the story itself begins in 1928 when Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank) meets publisher/publicist George Putnam (Richard Gere) in New York. As a result of their meeting, she becomes the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, but as a passenger.

Earhart becomes the press's darling and is labeled as "Lady Lindy" in reference to Charles Lindbergh. Putnam helps her capitalize on her fame by signing her to a variety of endorsement deals and public engagements. While she doesn't like it, Earhart does it anyway because it helps to support her desire to accomplish flying feats no one has done before.

Unfortunately, the film's primary emphasis is on the relationship between Earhart and Putnam, who eventually become married, and an affair between Earhart and Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor), a former Olympian and a pioneer in the aviation industry. It's not until the last 15 minutes that Amelia grabs your attention as Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan (Christopher Eccleston) edge closer to their doomed fate over the Pacific Ocean.

Amelia is shallow, potentially misleading and toothless from the start. The chemistry between Swank and Gere is horrific. It's akin to watching a piece of wood trying to interact with a clump of dirt. There are also zero sparks between Swank and McGregor who depict an affair that's "assumed" to have happened. It's the stuff that would have Access Hollywood excited about.

Amelia is truly a disservice to its namesake. Only a microscopic amount of detail is paid to Earhart's life before the age of 31. She mentions a few times that she's from Kansas (Earhart moved to Iowa when she was 12) and states once that her father was a drunk. We never understand what really motivated her. Most of her spectacular aeronautical accomplishments, which were many, are either ignored or glossed over. Other supporting characters are introduced but then are never developed and disappear. Again, too much attention is paid to her romantic life rather than her being a heroic pioneer for women and an inspiration for younger generations of women today.

On a letter grade scale from A being excellent to F for failing, Amelia receives a D.
    
Amelia is rated PG and has a running time of 111 minutes.

Now showing through November 19 @
Glenwood Arts
9575 Metcalf
Overland Park
Visit www.fineartsgroup.com or call 913-642-4404 for more information.

By Michael D. Smith

Indie Film Editor

Michael D. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri followed by a Master of Arts in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Inspired by such critics as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing films in 1992 for College of the Ozarks's student-run newspaper. After returning to the Kansas City area in 1994, he continued film reviewing by writing for the Cass County Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville.

In 2000 Michael joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as its film critic and Arts and Entertainment Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the "Fine Arts Radio Hour" and "Celebrity Scoop" radio shows on KXTR. After leaving the Sun in late 2002, he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, Kansas. He also worked as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, Missouri and the Kansas City Star.

Michael is currently a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.