Amelia

Amelia - A Fox Searchlight Pictures release

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/amelia/

Release Date: October 23rd, 2009

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

Running time: 111 minutes

Mira Nair (dir.)

Ronald Bass (writer)

Anna Hamilton Phelan (writer)

Susan Butler (book "East to the Dawn")

Mary S. Lovell (book "The Sound of Wings")

Gabriel Yared (music)

Hilary Swank as Amelia Earhart

Richard Gere as George Putnam

Ewan McGregor as Gene Vidal

Christopher Eccleston as Fred Noonan

Joe Anderson as Bill Stultz

Hilary Swank as Earhart in Mira Nair's AMELIA - A Fox Searchlight Pictures release

(Photo by Ken Woroner)

Our reviews below:

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Amelia Review By John C.

*** (out of 4)

Amelia is a bio-pic of Amelia Earhart, starring Hilary Swank, made in the classy style of an old film from the ‘50’s. It takes place in the 1930’s, and captures the era very well. This is a period-piece, right from the costumes to the archival news footage.

Visually, Amelia is just a beautiful film. The shots of classic air planes in flight, and aerial cinematography are just gorgeous. To achieve a classic look, real planes were actually used in the filming, rather than just being added in later on computers.

While Amelia is somewhat of a letdown in the sense that it’s not the Best Picture contender everyone was expecting. With that said, it is still a very good film, with good acting, including an excellent lead performance by Hilary Swank. This film succeeds because of it’s acting, good direction by Mira Nair, and sweeping musical score by Gabriel Yared.

If Fox Searchlight wants to push one of their films for any awards, then they should throw all their support behind (500) Days of Summer. While Amelia might pick up an acting nom for Swank, if Summer had been released in the Autumn instead of in July, it likely would have picked up some awards nominations, mainly for Best Original Screenplay.

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Amelia Review By Erin V.

***1/2 (out of 4)

Amelia opens in the style of a classic old movie, with it's title cards and credits at the beginning while the quiet music plays. This style is kept throughout the whole film, something that I found rather fitting.

Amelia Earhart is played, in a wonderful performance, by Hilary Swank. She embodies this famous woman from history well, and is completely believable in the role. The other supporting actors also give fine performances as well.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about this film was the music composed by Gabriel Yared. It provides the right feel for the story. The cinematography is also quiet beautiful. Be it shots of clouds from above, or aerial shots of the vast and varying landscapes below, it is always a joy to watch.

This film will not be for everyone. It is quite well made, but it is also very low-key. The trailer, I find, shows the movie well, so you can judge from there. For those interested in history, particularly aviation, this movie is one that you should definitely go see.

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Amelia Review By Nicole

*** (out of 4)

Amelia is a classy, low key movie that follows one of history's most famous women, Amelia Earhart. Hilary Swank is perfect as Amelia Earhart.

The movie follows Amelia's famous flights, as well as her personal life. She loves her husband George Putnam, but a love triangle of sorts ensues when she meets flight instructor Gene Vidal, (His son Gore sees Amelia as a mother figure.)

There are a lot of beautiful moments in this film. The aerial shots over the African Savannah and the oceans are just amazing. The score by Gabriel Yared soars with the film.

Amelia Earhart was, and still is, an inspiration to women, or anyone who wants to follow their dream. The ending is tragic, but stays true to history. This film is a must see for anyone into history, aviation history, aviation, women's rights, or who just wants to see a film with an older feel. Amelia is a film that anyone, from 10 to 100, can enjoy.

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Amelia Review By Maureen

*** (out of 4)

The story of female flier Amelia Earhart has always been an interesting one to many people. Director Mira Nair's bio-pic "Amelia" is a lovely interpretation of the story. This is a visually nice movie to watch. The aerial shots are beautiful and the costuming of the 1930's era is classy and authentic.

The real strength of 'Amelia' is Hilary Swank's portrayal of Amelia Earhart. Swank completely captures Earhart's adventurous, independent spirit and her quietly understated beauty. She is wonderful to watch in every scene. Richard Gere also gives a good performance as Amelia Earhart's husband, George Putnam. All of the other actors give solid performances as well, but it is Hilary Swank who carries this film.

Amelia is going to appeal to anyone interested in aviation history and/or the history of strong American women. This is also a wonderful travel story and period piece. Mainly it's the story of a woman who dares to pursue her dream and it's an inspiration for all ages.

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Amelia Review By Tony

*** (out of 4)

Amelia tells the story of Amelia Earhart’s life as an aviatrix and inspiration to women, mainly during the Depression of the 1930s. Despite an affair with the aviator Gene Vidal (Ewan MacGregor) she remained devoted to her husband and backer George Putnam (Richard Gere), but maintained her free spirit to the end.

Directed By Indian-born Mira Nair, Amelia has an old-fashioned style appropriate to its era, shot on location in Canada and Africa using real vintage planes shot in the air without any computer tricks. Even the romantic scenes–fully clothed and fading out after the initial embrace–are consistent with the films of the period.

Hilary Swank is as good as expected, bearing a close resemblance to the real Earhart, not only in appearance but also her speech and mannerisms, as seen in archival clips. The rest of the cast is also fine, and the lush musical score by Gabriel Yared is a nice bonus.

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Hilary Swank as Earhart and Ewan McGregor as Gene Vidal - A Fox Searchlight Pictures release

(Photo by Ken Woroner)

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Consensus: Though not the Oscar contender everyone was expecting, Amelia is nice bio-pic of Amelia Earhart, made stronger by an excellent lead performance from Hilary Swank, and beautiful aerial cinematography. *** (Out of 4)

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Richard Gere as George Putnam in AMELIA - A Fox Searchlight Pictures release (Photo by Ken Woroner)