Released October 23, 2009
I have been duped. I will not lie that this film released with the right cast and just about the right time for me to think it was for certain going to be a touching Oscar worthy performance for the ever-stellar Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry, Million Dollar Baby) or perhaps the final piece to the puzzle in the acting career Richard "Dicky Boy" Gere (Pretty Woman, Chicago). However, I will say outright that it just was not.
Unless you are some huge aeronautical buff or obsessed with record breakers - hell, even if you are - this movie was a complete hack. The film had no setup. I guess Bollywood director Mira Nair (Vanity Fair, Salaam Bombay!) assumed that we had all paid attention to our elementary education and knew the life story of Amelia Earhart and thus she allowed for ZERO setup. Literally within 15 minutes of the film starting, you are already knee deep in the trials and tribulations of Mrs. Earhart and soon after find yourself nipple deep in her life as a national treasure and adventure girl. All the while, Nair forgot to allow us the opportunity to feel/care/love the character of Mrs. Earhart and her wacky hair-doo's by explaining perhaps a millisecond of back story. Instead we are thrust into her world even before the audience feels ready to engage.
Clearly I was turned off from the start. But besides the films beautiful cinematic production value and a couple of hilarious shots of Earhart "flying" in front of what looks like a blatant green screen (COME ON, ALREADY!), the start was only the beginning of the pain. There is no climax, no memorable moments, no nothing. Unless you are 10 years old and you are writing a paper on Amelia and her, I am sure, fascinating life - do not see this film. And if you are in fact writing a paper on her, let it be known you need to do some real research because her life MUST have been more interesting and exciting than this drab waste of time.
1 out of 4
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