Confirming what has seem likely for a couple months (that at the very least Searchlight was confirmed about reviews and festivals)"
Variety
Amelia A Fox Searchlight release of a Fox Searchlight and Avalon Pictures presentation. Produced by Ted Waitt, Kevin Hyman, Lydia Dean Pilcher. Executive producers, Ron Bass, Hilary Swank. Co-producer, Don Carmody. Directed by Mira Nair. Screenplay, Ron Bass, Anna Hamilton Phelan, based on the books "East to the Dawn" by Susan Butler and "The Sound of Wings" by Mary S. Lovell.
Amelia Earhart - Hilary Swank George Putnam - Richard Gere Gene Vidal - Ewan McGregor Fred Noonan - Christopher Eccleston Bill - Joe Anderson Eleanor Roosevelt - Cherry Jones Elinor Smith - Mia Wasikowska Gore Vidal - William Cuddy
By JUSTIN CHANG To say that "Amelia" never gets off the ground would be an understatement; it barely makes it out of the hangar. Handsomely mounted yet dismayingly superficial, Mira Nair's film offers snazzy aerial photography and inspirational platitudes in lieu of insight into Amelia Earhart's storied life and high-flying career. Prestigious packaging, led by Hilary Swank's gussied-up performance as the iconic aviatrix, portends friendly commercial skies for the Fox Searchlight release, at least initially. But critical disdain is unlikely to be countered by much audience enthusiasm, even among admirers of this kind of old-fashioned, star-powered bio-mush. Condensed by Ron Bass and Anna Hamilton Phelan from two hefty biographies (Susan Butler's "East to the Dawn" and Mary S. Lovell's "The Sound of Wings"), the 111-minute film unavoidably leaves out enough particulars to bug Earhart experts. But omission matters less than interpretation, and what rankles most about "Amelia" is the timidity and lack of imagination with which Nair approaches one of America's most exceptional and intriguing celebrity life stories.
In focusing on the decade between Earhart's first taste of fame in 1928 and her 1937 disappearance over the South Pacific during an attempt to fly around the world, Nair frames the drama as the tale of a woman who chafed against gender barriers in pursuit of big dreams, and inspired others to do the same. The theme is apparent from the moment Amelia, an eager if inexperienced pilot, meets George Putnam (Richard Gere), the New York publisher who made Charles Lindbergh a bestselling author and hopes to work similar wonders with a femme flyer.
While George warns Amelia not to set her sights too high, her pluck and resolve are such that she becomes the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, albeit as a passenger, making her an instant superstar ("Lady Lindy"). A few listless flashing-headline montages illustrate Amelia's rise to stardom on the lecture circuit and in advertising, which help fund her very expensive first love, flying.
Her second love is George, whose marriage proposal she accepts after some resistance. But their union is strained by Amelia's restlessness, her unhappiness with the distractions of fundraising, and most of all by her growing fondness for pilot and aeronautics professor Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor), the father of a very young Gore Vidal (William Cuddy, winning).
Apart from one stolen kiss, the film tiptoes around Butler's assertion that Amelia and Gene were lovers, lest Amelia become too flawed (and thus too interesting) a heroine. But due to the writing and direction of Amelia's romantic interludes with either George or Gene, the half-formed love triangle never seems in danger of catching fire anyway. Not helping matters is the image of Gere playing yet another older man opposite a younger woman (a shot of Amelia and George on the beach looks like something out of "Nights in Rodanthe").
But it's Swank who must shoulder the heaviest thesping burden, and her Amelia remains earthbound. An actress who does her best work in plain-spoken, contempo working-class roles, Swank is a decent physical match for her subject, and her slightly androgynous appearance here underscores Earhart's standing as a woman among men. But the character's passion hasn't been sufficiently dramatized (this Amelia likes to fly planes because the script says so), and every effort to transform Swank -- the close-cropped blonde hair, the '30s costumes designed by Kasia Walicka Maimone, the actress' wobbly Kansas accent -- ends up feeling like one fussy affectation on top of another.
Similarly, Nair, who has made fine films ("Monsoon Wedding," "The Namesake") that stayed close to her Indian roots, seems completely beholden to biopic formulas here. Slathered in banal voiceover narration and Gabriel Yared's hyperactive score, the pic gets a lot of mileage out of Stuart Dryburgh's f/x-enhanced aerial lensing (largely captured over South Africa). But the footage is postcard-pretty without being psychologically revealing; Imax documentaries and theme-park attractions offer comparable pleasures at a fraction of the length. Intermittent black-and-white newsreel footage of Earhart adds some interest but also feels like a nervous bid for authenticity.
Amelia's final flight (snippets of which are intercut with the narrative proper) is handled with tasteful directness, steering clear of the conspiracy theories that have dogged Earhart's legend. But "Amelia" seems uninterested in mining any fresh meaning or mystery from its subject's fate -- which, though tragic, was also instructive, an American spin on the Icarus myth -- and the buoyant, follow-your-dreams note struck at the end only trivializes it.
As Fred Noonan, the often-soused but skillful navigator who vanished along with Earhart, Christopher Eccleston strikes up a prickly chemistry with Swank, while Cherry Jones has her moment in the ****pit as a besotted Eleanor Roosevelt. Excellent period design boasts gleaming re-creations of vintage aircraft, including the twin-engine Lockheed L-10 Electra that Earhart flew to the uncertain end.
Camera (Deluxe color/B&W archival, Panavision widescreen), Stuart Dryburgh; editors, Allyson C. Johnson, Lee Percy; music, Gabriel Yared; music supervisor, Linda Cohen; production designer, Stephanie Carroll; art director, Nigel Churcher; set decorator, Gordon Sim; costume designer, Kasia Walicka Maimone; sound (Dolby Digital), Drew Kunin; supervising sound editor, Dave Paterson; re-recording mixers, Dominick Tavella, Dave Paterson, Michael Barry; visual effects, Mr. X; stunt coordinator, Steve Lucescu; line producer, Genevieve Hofmeyr; assistant director, Walter Gasparovic; second unit directors, Spiro Razatos, Marc Wolff, Miles Goodall; second unit camera, Jacques Haitkin; casting, Avy Kaufman. Reviewed at Fox Studios, Los Angeles, Oct. 16, 2009. MPAA Rating: PG. Running time: 111 MIN.
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Hollywood Reporter takes a different view (I need to check out Ray Bennett's track record)
Amelia -- Film Review By Ray Bennett, October 18, 2009 07:00 ET
Bottom Line: Top-flight portrayal of the aviator by Hilary Swank is an instant bio classic.
LONDON -- Freckle-faced, prairie-voiced and fiercely independent, Hilary Swank's depiction of aviator Amelia Earhart in Mira Nair's biographical film "Amelia" is of a high order. It ranks with recent real-life portrayals of Ray Charles by Jamie Foxx and Truman Capote by Philip Seymour Hoffman and could be similarly awards-bound.
The classically structured bio will appeal to grown-ups, history buffs and lovers of aeronautics, but in showing how the flier was one of the most lauded celebrities of her time, it also might appeal to youngsters. Smart marketing will expose the film to students and educators, and Swank's sparkling portrayal could help attract younger women.
Stephanie Carroll's handsome production design re-creates the 1920s and '30s vividly, and Stuart Dryburgh's cinematography captures the wild sensation of being alone high in the sky. Composer Gabriel Yared's orchestral score -- muscular in the aerial scenes, jovial where it needs to be and foreboding in its evocation of Earhart's fate -- ranks with his Academy Award-winning music for "The English Patient."
The screenplay by Ronald Bass and Anna Hamilton Phelan is based on two books about Earhart -- Susan Butler's "East to the Dawn" and Elgin Long's "Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved" -- and is almost old-fashioned in its linear path. It provides as much information as is needed for those not familiar with the character without expositional clutter while taking time to show the woman's no-nonsense approach to intimacy as well as the business of flying.
The script has input from Gore Vidal, who is portrayed as a child in the film by William Cuddy. He became close to Earhart when she had an affair with his father, noted aviation pioneer Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor), and there is a charming scene in which she explains to the frightened boy why her bedroom has walls covered in images from the jungle.
The film is framed by Earhart's ill-fated attempt to fly around the world in 1937 with flashbacks to her introduction to flying and her burst into worldwide fame. Richard Gere plays publisher George Putnam -- who promoted her flights and became her very understanding husband -- with much charm and is matched by McGregor as Vidal.
Very much her own woman, Earhart not only paved the way for female aviators but helped drive the development of aviation at large. In the process, she became one of the first celebrities to create a major marketing bandwagon with her name slapped on any number of household products.
The business of flying in those days was fraught with peril, however, and the film does a good job of creating suspense during Earhart's last flight. Christopher Eccleston makes a fine contribution as her navigator.
Most of all, Earhart wanted to be able to fly free as a bird above the clouds, and director Nair and star Swank make her quest not only understandable but truly impressive.
Justin Chang is a long-time staff reviewer for Variety, generally reliable.
Ray Bennett is a London-based free lancer who mainly writes about Brit films and also covers Cannes for them. According to Metacritic, his review of Mamma Mia had a score of 100.
My guess is that although this will get some mixed/favorable reviews along the way, the Variety review likely will be closer to the consensus opinion. Anyway, it's about to open, so we'll know for sure soon.
Yeah, well, THR always was a pale imitation of Variety right down to its reviews. No surprise then that Variety's will most likely be the default reaction amongst most critics. An unremarkable biopic of a genuinely interesting figure. What a damn shame. :-(
Fox Searchlight is giving this a high-profile enough release and Swank is well-regarded enough that a Cate Blanchett/Eliz:Golden Age nomination is still possible, particularly if this does strike a chord among older audiences looking for a conventional biopic. Best picture nomination and certainly director seem out of the question.
Originally posted by seanflynn: Justin Chang is a long-time staff reviewer for Variety, generally reliable.
Ray Bennett is a London-based free lancer who mainly writes about Brit films and also covers Cannes for them. According to Metacritic, his review of Mamma Mia had a score of 100.
My guess is that although this will get some mixed/favorable reviews along the way, the Variety review likely will be closer to the consensus opinion. Anyway, it's about to open, so we'll know for sure soon.
Ray Bennent compared Streep's performance in Mamma Mia to Minnelli's and Streisand's oscar winning roles. That's ridiculous, even to me.
What's also weird is that almost always an American film opening wide in America without the excuse of an early festival showing is reviewed by a LA based critic by both Variety and H'wood Reporter. (The film doesn't even open in London until next month). It's like they wanted for whatever reason (curry favor with Searchlight heading into Oscar ad buy season?) to make them very happy with their review.
Maybe there's no story here, but it is seems very odd.
So few reviews yet four days before release - here is one from the trade publication Box Office, which tends to reflect exhibitor reaction and not go out of the way to criticize upcoming hit films:
Amelia
by Amy Nicholson
Print Articleposted October 19, 2009 9:48 AM
A glossy magazine spread of a film that lets sleeping icons lie
The woman the earth couldn't hold proves a slippery subject for audiences curious to know the real Amelia Earhart. Mira Nair's good-looking biography doesn't hold Earhart up as a saint: she was stubborn and self-interested as hell. But ultimately, we whiz by her, faults and all, so fast we remember only a blur defined by a knockout wardrobe and broad grin. Modest houses who trickle in to rate Amelia's Oscar chances will find there's little to object to—or love about—this drama besides its easily achieved femmepowerment message; it's far less ambitious than its subject—and less memorable.
Hilary Swank, she of the sharp shoulders and golden Academy touch, does what she can to invest Amelia Earhart with life. Earhart is half of a good character: she's bold, individual and iconic. A romantic iconoclast, she wrote her manager and husband-to-be George Putnam (Richard Gere) on the eve of their wedding, "I shall not hold you to any medieval code of faithfulness to me, nor shall I consider myself bound to you similarly...I cannot guarantee to endure at all the confinements of even an attractive cage." Earhart kept her word when she plunged into an affair with Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor) and continued to invite him over for dinner. Independence was her key trait. It made people then and now want to tether themselves to her strength; in turn, she defended her right to be aloof.
Putnam manufactured her into one of the first media celebrities, and here we see her reluctantly endorsing cigarettes and luggage. But the tabloid scalpel didn't yet exist that would carve depth in the living icon. Nair can't give us more than a handsome press release for a woman who didn't like explaining her achievements beyond, “I want to do it because I want to do it.” And her early death protected her from collecting a lifetime of mistakes or the standard shabby decline into booze. As glossy flicks go, I'd happily buy my nieces tickets. Earhart's life and love philosophy might be bracing, but at least she refused to be defined by her liaisons, as did Coco Chanel in her biopic last month.
Swank has fun in the role—I haven't seen her smile this much in years—but she isn't given much complicated to do besides frustrate her friends when she digs in her heels. Gere, too, could handle giving Putnam more dimensions as he only gets to wade ankle deep in jealousy, grief and hucksterism. Towards the end, we're meant to feel the financial squeeze that underlined the couple's crazy around-the-world stunt, but the pressures of the outside world never register. How could they when she's got all those slick outfits—her buckles, scarves and goggles make her steam punk's pin-up girl. Christopher Eccleston has a small but powerful role as Fred Noonan, the navigator that vanished with Earhart on her last flight. One investigator speculates they survived long enough to settle in on Nikumaroro Island in the Pacific, where bones of a 5'7" Caucasian female were unearthed in 1940. But ultimately, this film concedes that for all Earhart's interviews, she lived the way she died: unknowably.
Even if the film is panned, Swank might still eek out a nomination since the Best Actress field is so weak this year. Elizabeth: The Golden Age was pure dreck, but Blanchett still got in on the basis of name recognition (there were much better options that year). Swank is a two-time Oscar winner and this film, like Elizabeth 2, is high profile so you never know.
But is anyone going to actually see this? I'll probably wait for Netflix because the trailer just looks too awful (and not in a good way).
Originally posted by DoubleD: But is anyone going to actually see this? I'll probably wait for Netflix because the trailer just looks too awful (and not in a good way).
Originally posted by DoubleD: But is anyone going to actually see this? I'll probably wait for Netflix because the trailer just looks too awful (and not in a good way).
Is there a good way to look awful?
Yep. Plenty of films have awful looking trailers, but you still want to see them because of the "trainwreck aspect" of it all. Kind of like a guilty pleasure.
Amelia, unfortunately, doesn't look like one of those "guilty pleasure" films.
In spite of reviews I think Swank will still be a big contender for a nom, and will probably be able to squeak in. If Blanchett could do it for "Golden Age" then Swank may be able to as well.
I wonder if Amelia is the prestige pic that everyone is going to crap all over this year? There's always one...
Originally posted by G.Penn: In spite of reviews I think Swank will still be a big contender for a nom, and will probably be able to squeak in. If Blanchett could do it for "Golden Age" then Swank may be able to as well.
This is my theory as well.
I hope The Office wins as Best Comedy Series for this year's Emmy Awards.
Posts: 13057 | Location: Manila | Registered: August 19, 2006
I was very disappointed with The Golden Age, but I still felt Blanchett was the best thing in it. Amelia might have impressive cinematography and other techs to go along with Hilary Swank, who just might be competitive for a nomination. At this point it's difficult to rule her out.
Posts: 13905 | Location: canada | Registered: December 22, 2005
Originally posted by G.Penn: In spite of reviews I think Swank will still be a big contender for a nom, and will probably be able to squeak in. If Blanchett could do it for "Golden Age" then Swank may be able to as well.
I wonder if Amelia is the prestige pic that everyone is going to crap all over this year? There's always one...
Originally posted by G.Penn: In spite of reviews I think Swank will still be a big contender for a nom, and will probably be able to squeak in. If Blanchett could do it for "Golden Age" then Swank may be able to as well.
I wonder if Amelia is the prestige pic that everyone is going to crap all over this year? There's always one...
Craps all over it because it deserves it?
'Golden Age' sucked. I mean, SUCKED.
I wasn't talking about 'Golden Age' but the fact that every year there is a prestige pic that is just okay that gets murdered by critics. Last year I think that was "Australia", which isn't the best film, but one that got kicked around. "Lions for Lamb" could be considered the film the year before that gotten beaten up pretty badly even though it wasn't the worst thing to be on screen.
Critics have no problem sinking their teeth into a so-so film from now and then and making it sound like it's the worst thing ever to appear on screen. How else would they get to say snarky things during a season with mostly good films.
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Originally posted by DoubleD: But is anyone going to actually see this? I'll probably wait for Netflix because the trailer just looks too awful (and not in a good way).
When I saw Julie and Julia, the mostly older, mostly female crowd seemed to really like the preview. You could hear those murmurs.
Negative review from Brent Simon of Screendaily...
Two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank can’t give any lift to Amelia, a soggy, un-engaging biopic of Amelia Earhart, the American aviatrix who rose to fame with her transatlantic flights in the 1930s but disappeared in a later attempt to circumnavigate the globe. An attractively packaged but dramatically inert hagiography, the film feels so utterly designed not to offend, shock or confuse any potential age group that it ends up saying nothing of consequence about its subject.
Swank’s status as an Oscar darling could give the movie some inroads with audiences hungry for an adult drama, but apart from 2002’s Insomnia she’s never had a film crack $12.5 million in its first week of wide release. Additionally, lackluster critical response and tepid at best word-of-mouth should consign Amelia to a quick theatrical run and longer life on pay cable and the small screen.
Providing just a pinch of flashback context from her childhood roots in rural Kansas, Amelia mostly centers on Earhart’s passion for flight and the two men in her life: her husband, promoter and publishing magnate George Putnam (Richard Gere), and pilot Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor), a longtime friend and, though the movie scarcely acknowledges it, part-time lover.
Charting her first transatlantic flight, her later solo trek and eventual doomed final flight, the movie also touches on Earhart’s place on the lecture circuit, and the hurdles involved in raising enough capital to fund her expeditions.
Amelia’s most comparable forebears are small screen, American cable movies-of-the-week and PBS docs, because its drama feels so staid and safe. Replete with newspaper headline montages that frequently explain the action that has just taken place in the preceding scene, Ron Bass and Anna Hamilton Phelan’s screenplay takes an extraordinary life of adventure and celebrity and drains it of excitement. There are no nuances to Earhart’s character, no hint that she might have been complicit in the marketing schemes dreamed up by George.
A meeting with Earhart and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (Cherry Jones), meanwhile, is so poorly set up as to render it a Forrest Gump-style outtake - the accidental meeting of two figures of historical note.
Most problematic, though, is the film’s obsessive preoccupation with attempting to impress a doomed love affair, a la Titanic, onto the narrative. In addition to creating one of the most tepid love triangles in recent movie history, all the time spent dawdling here could have more instructively been used to dig into Earhart’s personality or anchor the many fuzzy details that mar the doomed quest represented in the finale.
Swank’s performance is committed, but her rural accent is distractingly hit-and-miss and, combined with physical signifiers (toothy grins of gumption, furrowed brows of worry), it starts to come across as one-note, and cornpone at that. Gere and McGregor are admittedly given very little on the page with which to work, but each trades in three alternating looks: doleful, vexed or smitten.
Almost across the board, the movie scores high marks technically. Cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh crafts some striking work, albeit abetted by visual effects tweaks. The movie’s costumes and production design, though obviously crafted with some financial constraints, are attractive and engaging. The glaring exception: composer Gabriel Yared’s score trades in conventional melodramatic cues.
